^RYOFPRI/VC^ 


••^^OGICALSEIA^^ 


.^. 


BX  9184  .A5  G79  1841  v. 2 
Green,  Ashbel,  1762-1848 
Lectures  on  the  Shorter 
catechism  of  the 


LECTURES 


SHORTER    CATECHISM 


PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 


UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA, 


ADDRESSED  TO  YOUTH. 


ASHBEL^GREEN,   D.  D. 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 


VOL.  II. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRESBYTERIAN    BOARD    OF    PUBLICATION. 

JAMES   RUSSELL,    PUBLISHING   AGENT. 

1841. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1841,  by  A.  W.  IVIitchell, 
M.  D.,  in  tlie  OiSco  of  tlie  Clerli  of  tlio  District  Court  for  tlie  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


Printed  by 

WILLIAU  S.  MAR  TIEN. 


CONTENTS/ 


Page. 

LECTURE  XXXIV.— What  is  the  duty  which  God  requireth  of 
man  ?  What  did  God  at  first  reveal  to  man  for  the  rule  of  his 
obedience? 9 

LECTURE  XXXV.— The  second  subject  of  the  former  Lecture  con- 
tinued. Wherein  is  the  moral  law  summarily  comprehended  ? 
What  is  the  sum  of  the  ten  commandments  ?         -         -         -      18 

LECTURE  XXXVI.— What  is  the  preface  to  the  ten  command- 
ments?    What  doth  the  ten  commandments  teach  us  ?  30 

LECTURE  XXXVIL— Which  is  tlie  first  commandment?  What  is 
required  in  the  first  commandment  ?  .         .         -         .         38 

LECTURE  XXXVIII.— What  is  forbidden  in  the  first  command- 
ment?  What  do  these  words  "  before  me"  in  the  first  command- 
ment teach  us? 49 

LECTURE  XXXIX.— Which  is  the  second  commandment?  What 
is  required  in  the  second  commandment?  What  is  forbidden  in 
the  second  commandment  ?  Wliat  are  the  reasons  annexed  to  the 
second  commandment  ?..-----  65 

LECTURE  XL.— Which  is  the  third  commandment?  What  is  re- 
quired in  the  third  commandment  ?  What  is  the  reason  annexed 
to  the  third  commandment  ?-..---         83 

LECTURE  XLL— What  is  forbidden  in  this  commandment?         94 

LECTURE  XLII— Which  is  the  fourth  commandment?  What  is 
required  in  the  fourth  commandment  ?       -         .         .         -         103 

LECTURE  XLIIL— Which  day  of  the  week  hath  God  appointed  to 
be  the  weekly  sabbath  ?  ......         113 

LECTURE  XLIV.— How  is  the  sabbath  to  be  sanctified?  12G 

LECTURE  XLV. — What  are  the  reasons  annexed  to  the  fourth  com- 
mandment?           ...         143 

LECTURE  XLVI.— Which  is  the  fifth   commandment?     What  is 

required  in  the  fifth  commandment?     What  is  forbidden  in  the 

fifth  commandment?         .......         149 

LECTURE  XLVII.— The    subject   of  the   previous   Lecture    con- 

tinued,     .......-.-         158 

LECTURE  XLVIII.— The  subject  still  continued.  -  -  173 
LECTURE  XLIX.— The  subject  still  continued.  What  is  the  reason 

annexed  to  the  fifth  commandment  ?  -         -         -         -         187 

LECTURE  L. — Which  is  the  sixth  commandment?  What  is  required 

and  forbidden  in  the  sixth  commandment?  ...  195 
LECTURE  LI. -Which  is  the  seventh  commandment?     What  is 

required  and  forbidden  in  the  seventh  commandment  ?  -  203 
LECTURE  LII.— Which  is  the  eighth   commandment?     What  is 

required  in  the  eighth  commandment  ?      -         .         .         .         211 


O  CONTENTS. 

Pasc. 
LECTURE  LIII.— What    is    forbidden    in    the   eighth    command- 

mcnt? 223 

LECTURE  LIV.— Which  is  the  ninth  commandment?     What  is 

required  in  the  ninth  commandment?         ....         233 

LECTURE  LV What  is  forbidden  in  the  ninth  commandment?  244 

LECTURE  LVI.— Which  is  the  tenth  commandment?  What  is  re. 

quired  in  the  tenth  commandment?   What  is  forbidden  in  the  tenth 

commandment?  ........     254 

LECTURE  LVII. — Is  any  man  able  perfectly  to  keep  the  command. 

ments  of  God? 268 

LECTURE  LVIII. — Are  all  transgressions  of  the  law  equally  hein. 

ous?  What  doth  every  sin  deserve?  .  .  -  .  276 
LECTURE  LIX. — What  doth  God  requireof  us  that  we  may  escape 

his  wrath  and  curse  due  to  us  for  sin?  ....  287 
LECTURE  LX.— What  is  faith  in  Jesus  Christ?  -  -  294 
LECTURE  LXL — Subject  of  the  preceding  Lecture  continued.  306 
LECTURE  LXIL— What  is  repentance  unto  life?  -  -  316 
LECTURE  LXIII. — The  subject  of  repentance  continued  and  con. 

eluded.  .  ........         325 

LECTURE  LXIV. — What  are  the   outward    and  ordinary   means 

whereby  Christ  communicateth  to  us  the  benefits  of  redemption  ? 

How  is  the  word  made  effectual  to  salvation?  .         -         335 

LECTURE  LXV. — How  is  the  word  to  be  read  and  heard  that  it  may 

become  effectual  to  salvation  ?  .....         347 

LECTURE  LXVI. — How  do  the  sacraments  become  effectual  means 

of  salvation?  What  is  a  sacrament?  ....  355 
LECTURE  LXVIL— Which  are  the  sacraments  of  the  New  Testa. 

ment?     What  is  Baptism  ? 362 

LECTURE  LXVIIL— The  subject  of  the  foregoing  question  on  Bap. 

tism  continued.  -.....-.  368 
LECTURE  LXIX.— To  whom  is  baptism  to  be  administered?  378 
LECTURE  LXX.— What  i.s  the  Lord's  Supper?  -         .         391 

LECTURE  LXXL— What  is  required  to  the  worthy  receiving  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  ?.-...---         404 

LECTURE  LXXIL— What  is  prayer?  -         -         -         -     413 

LECTURE  LXXIII.— The  subject  of  the  foregoing  Lecture  con- 
tinued. - 421 

LECTURE  LXXIV.— What  rule  hath  God  given  for  our  direction  in 
prayer?   What  doth  the  preface  of  the  Lord's  prayer  teach  us?  430 

LECTURE  LXXV.— What  do  we  pray  for  in  the  first  petition  ?  What 
in  the  second  petition?     What  in  the  third  petition  ?  -         441 

LECTURE  LXXVL— What  do  we  pray  for  in  the  fourtii  petition  T 
What  in  the  fifth  petition  ? 454 

LECTURE  LXXVII.—What  do  we  pray  for  in  the  sixth  petition  ? 
What  doth  the  conclusion  of  the  Lord's  prayer  teach  us  ?  462 


LECTURES 


THE    SHORTER    CATECHISM. 


LECTURE  XXXIV. 


In  the  following  Lecture,  we  are  first  to  consider  that 
•'the  duty  which  God  requires  of  man,  is  obedience 
to  his  revealed  will." 

Hitherto,  in  our  Catechism,  our  attention  has  been 
directed  to  matters  of  faith;  although  I  have  endea- 
voured, through  the  whole,  lo  give  a /?r«c//ca/ direc- 
tion and  application  to  all  that  has  been  said. 

At  an  early  period  of  these  Lectures,  I  made  it  a 
point  to  show  you  the  importance  of  a  right  creed  in 
religion;  and  that  the  maxim  so  ofien  heard  from  the 
lovers  of  lax  principles,  "  that  it  is  no  matter  what  a 
man  believes,  if  his  life  be  good,"  is  a  compound  of 
absurdity  and  falsehood.  It  would  certainly  not  be 
worth  our  while  to  search  laboriously  after  truth,  if, 
when  found,  it  were  of  no  practical  utility;  no  better 
than  falsehood  itself,  as  to  its  influence  on  action. 
The  fact  is,  that  in  the  sight  of  God,  as  I  have  here- 
1  tofore  shown  you, priticiple  is  every  thing;  and  prin- 
ciple refers  to  the  understanding  as  well  as  to  the 
heart.  It  is  consequently  of  infinite  importance  that 
our  faith,  as  to  the  essentials  of  religion,  be  right;  be- 
cause this  is  the  foundation  and  vital  spring  of  duty. 

VOL.  II. — 2 


10  LECTURES     ON     THE 

It  was,  therefore,  with  great  propriety,  that  the  au- 
thors of  our  Catechism,  in  giving  a  summary  of  re- 
ligious truth,  stated  the  essential  articles  of  faith,  or 
the  things  to  be  believed,  before  they  gave  a  detail 
of  duties,  or  things  to  be  done.  But  as  truth  is  in  or- 
der to  duty,  faith  in  order  to  practice,  those  who  form- 
ed the  Catechism,  after  having  delineated  the  essential 
principles  of  revealed  truth,  and  shown  how  they  are 
to  be  embraced  and  rested  upon  as  the  source  and 
fountain  of  holy  action,  proceed,  with  their  usual  ac- 
curacy, to  specify  the  duties  which  are  to  be  per- 
formed. 

By  duty,  in  the  answer  before  us,  we  are  to  un- 
derstand that  which  is  due  to  God,  from  his  creature 
man.  Not,  indeed,  that  we  can  ever  50  render  to  God 
his  due,  in  our  present  fallen  and  depraved  state,  as 
that  we  shall  be,  in  consequence  of  it,  out  of  debt  to 
our  ]\Iaker.  On  the  contrary,  we  shall  never  perform 
any  duty  in  a  right  or  acceptable  manner,  if  we  ex- 
pect to  make  more  of  it,  than  an  humble  expression 
of  gratitude  and  love.  It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercy  that 
we  are  not  consumed,  for  the  violation  and  neglect  of 
duty;  and  even  for  the  imperfection  of  our  best  per- 
formances. To  the  mediation  and  intercession  of 
Christ,  we  must  be  indebted  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  for 
acceptance  with  God,  and  for  our  whole  future  hap- 
piness in  the  heavenly  world.  But  it  is  the  deep 
sense  which  the  believer  has  of  this  very  truth — of 
his  infinite  obligation  for  redeeming  mercy,  which 
makes  him  earnestly  desirous  to  obey  all  God's  com- 
mandments; that  he  may  hereby  express,  as  I  have 
said,  his  gratitude  to  Him  whose  commandments  they 
are,  whose  will  in  all  things  he  esteems  to  be  right, 
and  who,  for  Christ's  sake,  both  acccepts  and  graci- 
ously rewards  the  obedience  which  is  rendered  from 
a  right  principle,  although  attended  with  many  im- 
perfections. Those  imperfections,  nevertheless,  the 
believer  always  bewails;  he  aims  at  that  perfection 
which  in  this  life  he  never  reaches:  he  loves  the 
whole  law  of  God,  and  loves  it  because  it  is  a  per- 
fect law.     If  he  could  have  a  mitigated  law,  which 


SHORTER    CATECHISM,  11 

some  vainly  talk  of,  it  would  only,  on  that  very  ac- 
count, be  the  less  amiable  to  him.  The  law  of  God 
was  never  too  strict;  had  it  been  so,  it  would  have 
been  unjust,  and  unworthy  of  its  Author.  It  was  al- 
ways perfectly  holy,  just,  and  good;  and  of  course 
any  mitigation,  or  change,  would  abate  its  excellence, 
and  make  it  less  worthy  of  the  love  and  estimation  of 
every  holy  soul.  Such  a  soul  must  love  a  perfect 
law;  and  while  its  reliance  is  wholly  on  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ  for  that  obedience  which  justifies, 
the  law  is  obeyed  out  of  cordial  love  to  it,  as  well  as 
from  love  to  Him>  whose  law  it  is;  and  of  whose  mind 
and  will,  indeed,  it  is  but  the  expression,  exhibition, 
and  likeness. 

The  whole  revealed  will  of  God  forms  the  rule  of 
our  duty;  and  you  will  observe  that  all  the  excel- 
lence of  our  obedience,  is  derived  from  its  being  ren- 
dered to  a  rule  which  is  recognized  as  the  will  of  God. 
Without  this,  what  we  do  can  never  with  propriety 
be  called  obedience.  It  may  be  something  that  inci- 
dentally coincides  with  the  Divine  will,  but  it  is  a 
fulfilling  of  our  own  will,  and  not  a  conformity  to  that 
of  our  Maker.  To  give  it  the  character  oi  obedience, 
it  must  be  done  out  of  a  supreme  regard  to  the 
authority  of  God,  who  requires  it.  Then  it  will 
be  in  us  the  acknowledgment  of  his  authority — an 
act  infinitely  suitable  for  such  dependent  creatures 
as  we  are;  and  which  the  Creator  indispensably  de- 
mands. Let  us  carefully  remember,  then,  that  we 
never  render  any  acceptable  obedience  to  God,  till 
we  conform  to  his  laws  from  a  regard  to  his  autho- 
rity, as  the  very  ground  and  reason  of  our  obedi- 
ence. 

I  shall  dismiss  the  answer  before  us,  with  one  other 
remark,  which  I  think  of  much  importance,  and  for 
the  introduction  of  which  this  seems  the  proper  place; 
It  is,  that  God's  revealed  will,  and  not  his  secret  will, 
is  the  rule  of  our  obedience.  God's  secret  will  is 
reserved  to  himself,  as  the  rule  of  his  own  procedure; 
but  his  revealed  will  is  made  known  to  us  as  the  rule 
of  our  faith  and  conduct.   Observe  how  explicitly  this 


12  LECTURES     ON     THE 

is  declared  in  Scripture — "  The  secret  things  belong 
unto  the  Lord  our  God;  but  the  things  which  are  re- 
vealed, belong  unto  us  and  to  our  children  for  ever, 
that  we  may  do  all  the  words  of  this  law."  Remem- 
ber this,  my  young  friends — never  inquire  after  the 
secret  will  of  God.  It  is  a  presumptuous  and  wick- 
ed trespass  on  his  prerogative.  Never  attempt,  there- 
fore, to  be  wise  above  what  is  written.  Go  just  as 
far  as  God's  revealed  will  will  carry  you,  and  there 
stop.  What  he  has  not  revealed  leave  with  himself. 
Take  the  information,  and  obey  the  commands  which 
he  has  plainly  given,  and  the  issue  will  certainly  be 
happy.  But  if  you  seek  to  explore  his  inscrutable 
counsels,  or  to  go  further  than  his  word  conducts  you, 
be  assured  of  endless  doubt  and  perplexity,  and  un- 
happiness. — You  will  offend  your  God,  and  torment 
yourselves.  To  give  one  example:  Never  seek  to 
know  whether  you,  or  any  one  else,  is  chosen  to 
eternal  life,  in  any  other  way  than  by  seeking  the  fa- 
vour of  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  To  seek  the  fa- 
vour of  God  through  Christ,  is  your  revealed,  com- 
manded duty;  but  who  belong  to  the  number  of  the 
elect,  is  hidden  from  us  in  the  secret  will  of  God. 
Those  who  embrace  the  Saviour  may  indeed  know 
by  that  act,  that  they  are  chosen  in  him;  but  to  seek 
to  know  it  in  any  other  way,  is  a  trespass  on  God's 
prerogative. 

We  now  proceed  to  the  next  answer  of  our  Cate- 
chism, which  is,  "The  rule  which  God  at  first  re- 
vealed to  man  for  his  obedience,  was  the  moral 
law." 

The  laws  of  God  are  usually  distinguished  into  na- 
^lira/ and  positive;  a  distinction  which  I  have  here- 
tofore explained,  and  shall  at  present  add  but  little. 
The  law  of  God  natural,  or  the  law  of  nature,  is — 
"that  necessary,  unalterable  rule  of  right  and  wrong, 
which  is  founded  in  the  infinitely  holy  and  just  na- 
ture of  God  ;  and  to  an  obedience  to  which,  men,  as 
reasonable  and  moral  beings,  cannot,  from  their  very 
nature,  but  be  indispensably  bound." 

By  the  positive  laws  of  God,  we  mean,  "  such  in- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  13 

stitutions  as  depend  only  on  the  sovereign  will  and 
pleasure  of  God ;  and  which  he  might  not  have  en- 
joined, and  yet  his  nature  have  remained  the  same." 
Such  was  the  command  given  to  Adam  not  to  eat  the 
forbidden  fruit;  for  we  can  easily  conceive  that  some 
other  test  of  obedience  might  have  been  given,  and 
which,  if  it  had  been  given,  would  have  been  equal- 
ly binding.  And  all  the  ceremonial  precepts,  under 
the  ancient  Mosaic  dispensation,  were  certainly  of 
this  description;  for  they  have  long  since  been  actual- 
ly abrogated  by  Christ,  the  lawgiver  of  the  church; 
although  they  were  as  binding  on  the  Jews,  till  abro- 
gated, as  any  other  of  the  divine  laws. 

The  dictates  of  the  law  of  nature  were  "  at  first," 
or  originally,  written  fairly,  (so  to  speak,)  by  the  fin- 
ger of  God,  on  the  heart  or  mind  of  man,  at  his  crea- 
tion. This  is  certainly  what  is  chiefly  intended  when 
it  is  said,  that  he  was  made  in  "  the  image  of  God." 
He  knew  his  duty  fully,  and  he  was  perfectly  dis- 
posed and  able  to  perform  it.  By  the  fall,  man  has 
become  totally  averse  to  that  obedience  which  he 
owes  to  God.  Yet  the  fall  and  original  depravity 
notwithstanding,  he  still  retains  a  moral  nature.  He 
has  a  natural  conscience;  he  has  an  innate  sense  of 
right  and  wrong  in  human  conduct;  and  some  gene- 
ral principles  of  the  law  of  nature  are  still  found  in 
the  whole  of  our  race.  The  apostle  to  the  Romans 
is  explicit  in  declaring  this — "  The  Gentiles,  (says, 
he,)  which  have  not  the  law,  (that  is,  the  revealed 
moral  law,)  do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the 
law;  these,  having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  them- 
selves; which  show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in 
their  hearts,  their  conscience  also  bearing  witness, 
and  their  thoughts,  the  meanwhile,  accusing  or  else 
excusing,  one  another." 

There  is  some  difference  between  the  law  of  na- 
ture, and  what  is  called  the  moral  law,  as  contained 
in  the  decalogue.  The  same  duties  which  are  con- 
tained in  the  law  of  nature,  are  prescribed  also  in  the 
written  moral  law;  yet  in  the  moral  law  there  are 
some  things  of  a  positive  kind.     The  law  of  nature, 


14  LECTURES     ON     THE 

fof  example,  teaches  that  God  is  to  be  vvorshipped; 
but  it  required  a  positive  precept,  to  render  binding 
the  setting  apart  of  the  seventh  day,  specially  for  the 
performance  of  that  worship.  And  this  I  think  will 
explain  sufficiently  a  point  which  has  been  a  good 
deal  agitated  by  some  theological  writers,  namely, 
whether  the  giving  of  the  law  at  Mount  Sinai,  was, 
in  reality,  any  thing  more  than  a  republication  of  the 
law  of  nature.  It  certainly  contained  all  the  great 
principles  of  the  law  of  nature,  but  it  also  clearly  con- 
tained something  more.  Besides,  it  was  not  publish- 
ed as  a  covenant  of  works,  which  was  the  true  design 
of  the  law  of  nature  when  it  was  given  to  Adam. 
The  moral  law  then,  as  given  at  Sinai,  recognized 
the  principles  of  the  law  of  nature;  but  withal  made 
some  additions  of  a  positive  kind;  and  gave  the 
whole  with  a  totally  different  view — not  as  a  cove- 
nant of  works  to  believers,  but  only  as  a  rule  of  life, 
by  which  they  are  to  walk — while  they  rely  on  a 
Mediator  for  that  perfect  and  meritorious  obedience 
which  they  can  never  render. 

I  have  just  said  that  the  moral  law  is  to  be  view- 
ed as  the  rule  of  our  obedience.  I  add,  that  it  must 
also  be  viewed  as  the  reff^o?2  of  our  obedience.  This, 
which  I  have  already  intimated,  I  must  for  a  moment 
press  on  your  attention.  Remember  then,  that  we 
must  not  only  do  what  is  commanded  in  the  law,  and 
avoid  what  is  forbidden;  but  we  must  also  do  good 
for  this  very  reason,  that  God  requires  it ;  and  avoid 
evil  because  he  forbids  it.  Hear  his  own  words — "  I 
am  the  Lord  your  God,  therefore,  (i.  e.  because  I  am 
the  Lord  your  God,)  ye  shall  keep  my  statutes  and 
judgments." 

I  now  remark,  that  all  the  requisitions  of  the  moral 
law  are  immutably  binding  on  man,  unless  he  have 
an  express  dispensation  in  regard  to  positive  precepts, 
from  the  lawgiver,  God  himself.  With  respect  to  the 
Deity,  those  precepts  which  do  not  flow  absolutely 
and  immediately  from  his  nature,  may,  in  certain 
particular  cases,  be  altered  or  changed,  by  his  own 
express  appointment;  but  in  no  possible  case^  can 


3  HO  RTER     CATECHISM.  15 

they  be  altered,  changed,  or  abrogated  by  man,  with- 
out this  appointment.  For  a  father  deliberately  to 
take  away  the  life  of  an  unoffending  child,  is  a  most 
flagrant  violation  of  a  moral  law,  which  no  man,  nor 
body  of  men  on  earth,  can  ever  change  or  abrogate. 
Yet  in  the  case  of  Abraham,  when  he  was  command- 
ed to  offer  up  his  son  Isaac,  there  was  an  appearance 
of  abrogating  it,  on  the  part  of  God,  the  lawgiver. 
God  has  an  indisputable  right  to  take  away  the  life 
of  any  man,  in  any  circumstances.  He  is  doing  it 
daily.  He  has  also  a  right  to  make  use  of  any  in- 
strument for  the  purpose,  which  he  may  choose:  and 
to  make  proof  of  the  unreserved  obedience  of  Abra- 
ham, he  called  him  to  act  as  his  instrument  in  this 
instance.  Abraham  knew  this,  and  he  obeyed.  He 
knew,  as  I  have  said,  that  God  had  a  perfect  right  to 
take  away  at  his  pleasure  any  human  life,  and  to 
make  use  of  any  instrument  he  might  choose  for  the 
purpose.  Abraham  was  also  perfectly  satisfied  that 
he  was  called  to  act  instriimentally  on  this  occasion; 
and  that  however  inscrutable  to  him  the  whole  pro- 
ceeding might  be,  and  actually  was,  the  attributes  of 
God  afforded  an  unquestionable  assurance  that  the 
design  was  just,  and  wise,  and  good.  Perfectly  as- 
sured of  this,  and  well  knowing  that  the  lawgiver 
had  a  right  to  dispense  with  his  own  law,  Abraham's 
consent  to  take  away  the  life  of  his  only  and  well  be- 
loved son,  was  so  far  from  being  a  consent  to  an  act 
of  murder,  that  it  was  in  the  most  eminent  degree  an 
act  of  faith,  piety,  and  obedience  to  God;  and  it  is  ac- 
cordingly, and  uniformly,  represented  as  such  in  holy 
Scripture.  Isaac  indeed  was  not  actually  sacrificed; 
but  the  principles  I  have  explained  show  that  Abra- 
ham acted  on  warrantable  grounds,  while  he  expect- 
ed, as  he  certainly  did  expect,  to  offer  up  his  son,  in 
whom  his  own  hopes  and  the  promises  of  God  had 
centered. 

Let  me  now  remind  you  that  the  moral  law  is  a 
perfect  rule  of  life  and  manners — so  perfect  that  it 
admits  neither  of  addition  nor  diminution.  "The 
law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,"  says  the  Psalmist.     It 


16  LECTURES    ON    THE 

was  never  the  design  of  our  Saviour,  either  to  sup- 
ply any  defects  of  the  law,  or  to  correct  any  mistakes 
in  it.  He  acted  the  part  of  an  interpreter  and  de- 
fender of  the  moral  law,  but  he  did,  in  no  respect, 
assume  the  character  of  a  new  laivgiver.  He  ex- 
plained and  vindicated  it  from  the  corrupt  glosses 
and  perversions  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  but  he 
made  no  alterations,  additions,  or  abatements.  On 
one  occasion,  indeed,  he  said,  "  a  new  commandment 
I  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another."  But 
where  this  is  said,  the  context  clearly  shows,  that 
our  Lord  himself  considered  this  commandment  as 
new,  in  no  other  sense  than  as  being  enforced  by  a 
new  motive,  namely,  his  own  example  of  unparallel- 
ed love  to  us;  for  it  is  immediately  added,  "As  I 
have  loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another." 
Christ  himself  explicitly  declared,  "I  came  not  to  de- 
stroy the  law,  but  to  fulfil  it." 

As  righteousness  and  life  cannot,  since  the  fall,  be 
obtained  by  our  personal  obedience  to  the  moral  law, 
it  is  proper  to  show,  distinctly,  what  is  its  legitimate 
use  to  mankind  at  present.  It  is,  my  children,  of  the 
highest  use  both  to  believers  and  to  unbelievers;  to 
those  who  have  savingly  embraced  the  Redeemer, 
and  to  those  who  have  not.  To  believers  it  is  mani- 
festly of  the  highest  use;  for  although  they  are  not 
under  it  as  a  covenant  of  works,  by  which  they  are 
to  be  justified,  yet,  as  I  have  repeatedly  stated,  and 
can  scarcely  too  much  inculcate,  they  are  fully  under 
it  as  a  rule  of  duty;  and  they  account  it  their  happi- 
ness and  privilege  to  be  so.  Nor  is  this  all.  It  is  of 
the  utmost  use  to  excite  them  to  cultivate  and  express 
their  gratitude  to  Christ  Jesus  for  fulfilling  tliis  law; 
fulfilling  it  as  a  covenant,  and  in  their  behalf.  Thus 
they  are  taught  by  it  their  infinite  obligations  to  the 
Redeemer,  and  made  to  cleave  to  him  as  their  all 
in  all. 

The  moral  law  is  also  of  the  highest  use  to  those 
who  are  yet  in  their  sins.  It  is  of  use  to  discover  to 
them  their  utter  impotence,  and  inability  to  obtain 
justification  and  salvation  by  any  obedience  which 


SHOETEKCATECHISH.  17 

they  can  render  to  it;  and  thus  it  is  a  schoolmaster  to 
bring  them  to  Christ,  that  they  may  be  justified  by 
faith.  The  law  requires  spotless  purity  of  nature, 
and  perfect,  personal  and  perpetual  obedience;  and 
to  these  not  one  of  the  human  race  can  pretend. 
The  law,  therefore,  shuts  them  up  to  their  absolute 
need  of  Christ,  who  has  done  for  sinners  what  they 
could  never  do  for  themselves.  "  Christ  is  the  end 
of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth." 

I  close  the  Lecture  with  entreating  you,  my  dear 
youth,  to  meditate  closely  and  seriously  on  the  thought 
last  suggested.  You  must  answer  to  God  for  your 
obedience  to  his  holy  and  faultless  law.  You  cannot 
'plead  your  own  obedience.  However  amiable  your 
exterior,  still,  before  the  heart-searching  and  rein  try- 
ing God  you  are  guilty  and  polluted  sinners.  If  not 
blinded  by  your  sins,  you  will  admit  that  such  is  the 
melancholy  fact.  The  law  therefore  condemns  you; 
and  it  will  eternally  condemn  you,  unless  by  faith 
you  become  interested  in  that  perfect  righteousness 
of  the  Redeemer,  on  account  of  which  God  can  be 
just,  and  yet  the  justifier  of  the  penitent  and  believ- 
ing sinner.  Hasten  your  flight  then  to  "  the  Lamb 
of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world." 
Hasten^  I  say — for  if  the  arrest  of  death  overtake 
you  unreconciled  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ,  there  will 
remain  no  more  sacrifice  for  sin — you  will  be  undone 
for  ever.  But  if  vitally  united  to  the  Saviour,  the 
law  of  God,  completely  satisfied  by  him,  will  have 
no  demand  on  you;  and  with  him  you  will  live  and 
reign  for  ever,  in  the  mansions  of  eternal  bliss.   Amen, 


18 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


LECTURE  XXXV. 


After  speaking,  in  the  last  Lecture,  of  the  nature 
and  design  of  the  moral  law,  it  may  be  proper  to 
make  a  few  remarks  on  the  ceremonial  and  judicial 
law  of  the  Jews;  for  which  no  other  so  proper  an  oc- 
casion will  be  presented  in  lecturing  on  the  Cate- 
chism. We  cannot  pretend,  however,  to  enter  far, 
or  with  any  minuteness,  into  this  subject. 

The  ceremonial  law  was  a  system  of  positive  pre- 
cepts, relating  to  the  external  worship  of  God,  in  the 
Old  Testament  church.  These  were  all  given  by  par- 
ticular revelation  to  Moses,  and  by  him  delivered  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  sanctioned  by  the  authority  of 
Jehovah.  During  the  ancient  dispensation,  there- 
fore, they  were  as  obligatory  on  the  Israelites,  as  the 
moral  law  itself.  Or  rather,  during  that  dispensation, 
they  were,  in  a  certain  sense,  part  of  the  moral  law; 
inasmuch  as  that  law  enjoins  a  perfect  obedience,  or 
conformity,  to  all  that  God  commands;  and  these 
ceremonial  observances  were,  for  the  time  being, 
commanded  by  Him. 

Almost  all  the  ceremonial  institutions  were  of  a 
typical  nature.  They  were  designed  chiefly  to  typify 
Christ,  as  then  to  come,  and  to  lead  the  Israelites  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  way  of  salvation  by  him.  "  The 
passover,  the  priesthood,  the  temple,  the  altar,  the 
sacrifices,  the  cities  of  refuge,  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant, and  the  mercy  seat,  all  were  emblems  of  the 
Saviour,  his  offices,  and  the  work  of  salvation  which 
he  accomplished.  They  were,  as  the  apostle  declares, 
"the  shadow  of  good  things  to  come,  but  the  body  is 
of  Christ."  When,  therefore,  Christ,  who  was  the 
substance,  actually  appeared,  all  these  shadows,  or 
figurative  representations  of  him,  needed  no  longer 
to  be  preserved  and  repeated.  The  record  of  them 
is,  indeed,  preserved,  that  we  may  see  how  he  was 
predicted  and  made  known  to  the  ancient  church; 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  19 

and  that  we  may  also  see  a  beautiful  illustration  of 
many  parts  of  his  offices,  character  and  work;  but 
the  ceremonial  observances  themselves,  having  an- 
swered their  full  design,  are  abolished  by  the  Head 
of  the  church,  who  appointed  them.''* 

The  judicial  law  of  the  ancient  Israelites  was  that 
system  of  statutes  which  was  given  by  God,  for  the 
temporal  government  of  the  Jews.  It  chiefly  respect- 
ed them  as  they  were  a  nation  distinct  from  all 
others — a  theocracy,  in  which  Jehovah  sustained  to 
them,  not  only  the  relation  of  Creator  and  Sovereign 
Lord,  but  that  of  a  national  head,  or  political  chief. 
Some  of  these  judicial  laws,  however,  did  not  relate 
to  the  Jews  as  a  pecnliar  people,  but  had  their  foun- 
dation clearly  in  the  law  of  nature  itself.  This  is,  by 
no  means,  of  small  importance  to  be  observed:  be- 
cause, although  the  judicial  law,  given  by  Moses,  is 
completely  abrogated,  so  far  as  it  respected  the  pecu- 
liar constitution  of  the  Jewish  nation,  yet,  so  far  as  it 
contains  any  statute  founded  in  the  law  of  nature, 
common  to  all  nations,  it  is  still  of  binding  force. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  consider  the  next  question 
and  answer  of  the  Catechism. 

"  Q.  Wherein  is  the  moral  law  summarily  compre- 
hended?" 

"A.  The  moral  law  is  summarily  comprehended 
in  the  ten  commandments." 

It  is  the  nature  of  a  summary  to  reduce  a  subject 
to  its  essence.  Such  is  the  nature  of  the  decalogue, 
or  ten  commandments.  It  is  surprising  to  see  that 
all  the  moral  laws  can,  as  to  their  essence,  be  brought 
*  within  the  compass  of  ten  short  precepts.  And  we 
shall  presently  see,  that  when  our  Saviour  gave  a 
summary  of  this  summary,  (which  he  did  by  reduc- 
ing all  the  moral  laws  to  \\\e\\:  principle,)  he  shorten- 
ed it  still  more.  These  laws,  however,  when  they 
are  dilated,  ramified  and  explained,  make  the  subject 
of  a  considerable  part  of  Holy  Scripture;  and  it  is 
of  great  importance  to  consider  them  in  all  their  ex- 
pansion, and  to  see,  in  detail,  the  duties  which  they 

*  McEwen. 


20  LECTURESONTHE 

enjoin,  and  the  sins  which  they  forbid.  Hence  the 
propriety  and  importance  of  those  questions  and  an- 
swers of  our  Catechism,  which  show  what  is  requir- 
ed, and  what  is  forbidden,  in  each  of  these  short  pre- 
cepts, and  the  reasons  on  which  some  of  them  are 
grounded. 

The  moral  law,  contained  in  the  ten  command- 
ments, was  given  at  Mount  Sinai,  or  Horeb,  and  was 
written  by  the  finger  of  God,  in  the  first  instance,  on 
two  tables  of  stone.  The  record  of  this  transaction 
is  very  remarkable.  It  is  said  that  "  the  tables  were 
written  on  both  their  sides;  on  the  one  side  and  on 
the  other  were  they  written."  In  this  particular  and 
repeated  declaration,  that  the  tables  were  written  on 
both  sides,  the  intimation  is  plainly  given,  that  no- 
thing was  to  be  added  to  the  words  of  the  law,  nor 
taken  away  from  them.  No  room  was  left  for  addi- 
tion, and  who  should  dare  to  erase  what  the  finger  of 
God  had  inscribed !  In  the  early  ages  of  the  world, 
the  materials  used  at  present  for  the  making  of  re- 
cords were  not  generally  employed ;  yet  the  writing 
of  these  laws  on  stone,  was  probably  intended  to  de- 
note their  perpetuity,  and  everlasting  obligation. 

Two  tables  were  employed  for  writing  or  inscrib- 
ing the  decalogue,  both  at  the  first,  and  afterwards, 
when  Moses  had  destroyed  the  original  tables  for  the 
idolatry  of  the  people,  and  prepared  others  in  their 
place. 

On  one  of  these  tables  our  duty  to  God  was  in- 
scribed, and  on  the  other  our  duty  to  man.  The  first 
four  precepts,  or  commands,  contain  our  duty  to  God, 
and  the  six  following,  our  duty  to  our  fellow  crea- 
tures. Our  duty  to  God  is  first  prescribed,  as  first  in 
importance;  and  then  our  duty  to  each  other,  as  inse- 
parably connected  with  it,  and  flowing  from  it.  We 
are,  let  us  remember,  never  to  divide  what  God,  in 
this  manner,  has  joined  together.  They  who  would 
make  the  whole  of  religion  to  consist  in  the  exem- 
plary discharge  of  social  and  relative  duties,  while 
they  render  no  immediate  worship  and  service  to 
God,  ought  to  know  and  consider,  that  they  neglect 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  21 

the  first  and  most  important  part  of  duty — their  duty 
to  Him  who  made  them.  And  on  the  other  hand, 
they  who  profess  and  appear  to  be  punctihous  in  the 
worship  and  service  of  God,  and  yet  are  grossly  neg- 
hgent  of  social  and  relative  duties,  ought  to  be  made 
sensible,  that  their  Maker  never  will  accept  professed 
homage  to  himself,  by  those  who  treat  a  part  of  his 
laws  with  disregard  and  contempt.  Tlie  apostle 
James  is  explicit  on  this  topic — "Whosoever  shall 
keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he 
is  guilty  of  all."  That  is,  as  the  apostle  immediate- 
ly shows,  he  rebels  against  the  authority  of  him  by 
whom  the  whole  law  is  enacted  and  sanctioned,  and 
thus  virtually  sets  the  whole  aside.  Remember  this, 
I  repeat  it,  my  dear  youth.  Never  suppose  that  you 
can  lawfully  separate  what  God  has  intended  to  be 
inseparable.  Never  attempt  to  divide  the  duties 
which  you  owe  to  God  and  man.  Never  expect  to 
be  accepted  of  him  in  either,  unless  you  conscienti- 
ously endeavour  to  perform  both. 

In  attending  to  the  ten  commandments,  it  is  obvi- 
ous to  remark,  that  some  of  the  precepts  are  delivered 
in  an  affirmative,  and  some  in  a  negative  form.  Be- 
tween precepts  thus  delivered,  casuists  and  expositors 
make  this  distinction.  Affirmative  precepts,  they  re- 
mark, lay  down  what  is  always  our  duty,  but  yet 
what  we  are  not  at  all  ti7nes  to  be  engaged  in  the 
performance  of.  Thus  it  is  always  our  duty  to  wor- 
ship God;  but  we  cannot,  at  all  times,  be  engaged  in 
his  immediate  worship.  On  the  other  hand,  precepts 
delivered  in  the  negative,  or  prohibitory  form,  are 
binding,  not  only  always  but  at  all  times.  It  is, 
for  example,  at  all  times  sinful  to  be  profane,  or  to 
utter  wilful  falsehood. 

As  the  moral  law  of  God  is  (as  was  shown  in  the 
last  lecture)  perfectly  reasonable,  holy,  just,  and  good, 
it  admits  of  no  infraction  or  violation,  even  of  the 
slightest  kind.  As  our  Larger  Catechism  states,  "It 
binds  every  one  to  full  conformity  in  the  whole  mai], 
unto  the  righteousness  thereof,  and  to  entire  obedi- 
ence for  ever;  so  as  to  require  the  utmost  perfection 


22 


LECTURES     ON    THE 


in  every  duly,  and  to  forbid  tlie  least  degree  of  every 
sin." 

In  considering  the  nature  of  this  law,  we  are  also 
to  remember  that  it  is  spirifual,  reaching  to  the 
thoughts  and  motions  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  to  the 
words  and  actions  of  the  life.  Our  Saviour  was  par- 
ticular in  inculcating  this.  He  taught,  that  causeless 
anger  was  a  breach  of  the  sixth  commandment,  and 
impure  desire  a  violation  of  the  seventh. 

"The  law  of  God  (says  the  Psalmist)  is  exceeding 
broad."  Hence,  where  a  duty  is  commanded,  we  are 
to  consider  the  contrary  sin  as  forbidden;  and  where 
a  sin  is  forbidden,  the  contrary  duty  as  commanded. 
In  like  manner  when  any  duty  is  commanded,  all  the 
means  of  its  performance  are  commanded  likewise; 
and  when  any  sin  is  forbidden,  all  occasions  of  com- 
mitting it,  and  all  voluntary  temptations  to  it,  are  also 
forbidden. 

VVe  now  proceed  to  the  next  Question  and  Answer. 

''  Q.  What  is  the  sum  of  the  Ten  Conniiand- 
ments? 

A.  The  sum  of  the  Ten  Commandments  is,  to  love 
the  Lord  our  God  with  all  our  heart,  with  all  our  soul, 
with  all  our  strength, and  with  all  our  mind;  and  our 
neighbour  as  ourselves." 

Here  you  perceive,  as  I  have  already  intimated, 
that  the  summary  of  the  moral  law  contained  in  the 
decalogue,  is  itself  epitomized.  This  is  done  by  re- 
ducing the  law  to  its  principle,  namely,  love.  If  we 
have  suitable  love  to  God  and  man,  all  that  we  can 
need  further  is,  to  be  informed  in  regard  to  the  most 
acceptable  ways  of  expressing  it.  On  tlie  contrary,  if 
we  have  not  this  love,  we  render  no  acceptable,  no 
real  obedience,  whatsoever.  In  regard  to  God,  who 
searcheth  the  heart,  it  must  be  obvious  at  once,  that 
any  external  conformity  to  his  laws  which  is  notcor- 
dially  rendered — which  is  yielded  from  the  servile 
principle  of  fear,  or  from  any  motive  which  leaves 
the  heart  really  alienated  from  God  and  his  law — is  no 
obedience  at  all.  In  all  such  cases,  the  external  con- 
formity itself  would  be  withheld,  but  from  some  self- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM, 


23 


ish  regard.  This  is  perfectly  known  to  God,  and  he 
would  sanction  falsehood,  which  he  can  never  do,  if 
he  should  accept  as  done  out  of  regard  to  him,  what 
is  really  done  only  out  of  regard  to  self  Love,  there- 
fore, is  manifestly  essential  to  the  existence,  of  any 
thing  that  can  be  called  obedience  to  God;  there  can 
be  none  without  it.  The  truth  is,  our  Maker's  first 
demand  is  on  our  hearts;  "  My  son  give  me  thy 
heart,"  is  his  indispensable  requisition:  and  till  we 
comply  with  this  we  can  never  obey  him  aright.  He 
requires  the  obedience,  not  of  slaves,  but  of  affection- 
ate children. 

In  like  manner,  even  in  regard  to  man,  there  is  no 
rea!  duty  performed  without  love.  Man  indeed  can- 
not always  discern  the  motives  or  springs  of  action,  in 
his  fellow  man:  and  what  purports  to  be  done  from 
right  motives,  he  ought  so  to  accept.  But  let  a  man 
know — as  he  sometimes  may  know — that  another  is 
showing  him  much  apparent  respect ,\\'\iho\\i  the  least 
real  regard:  and  what  is  his  estimate  of  this  apparent 
respect?  Is  he  pleased  with  it?  No;  he  regards  him 
who  renders  it  only  as  a  hollow  hearted  hypocrite, 
who  seeks  to  serve  himself,  by  appearing  to  show  a 
respect  which  he  does  not  feel.  This  too,  in  all 
cases  in  which  it  takes  place,  is  perfectly  known  to 
the  heart-searching  and  rein-trying  God:  and,  of 
course,  he  knows  that  we  never  truly  perform  a  duty 
to  our  fellow  men,  till  we  love  them  as  his  law  re- 
quires. 

I  have  been  thus  particular  in  showing  that  love  is 
absolutely  essential  to  all  real  obedience,  because  men 
are  extremely  apt  to  satisfy  themselves  with  some  fair 
outward  appearances,  when  they  know  nothing  of 
real  love  to  God;  and  it  is  infinitely  important  to  take 
away  from  them  this  deceitful  opiate  of  their  con- 
sciences, and  to  show  them  that  they  have  never  yet 
rendered  one  single  act  of  real  obedience  to  God;  and 
because  also,  it  is  love  which  is  distinctly  and  pre- 
cisely meant,  in  the  answer  before  us,  by  the  sum  of 
the  ten  commandments.  He  that  possesses  genuine 
love  to  God,  possesses  a  principle  which  includes  in 


24 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


its  bosom  all  other  duties.  Hence,  said  the  apostle, 
''Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law." 

Having  seen  the  necessity  and  importance  of  the 
principle,  let  us  now  consider  the  rule  or  measure  of 
its  operation  toward  both  God  and  man.  Toward 
God,  this  principle  is  to  operate  in  such  manner  and 
degree  that  we  may  truly  be  said  "to  love  him  with 
all  the  heart,  with  all  the  soul,  with  all  the  mind, 
and  with  all  the  strength."  This  is  called  by  our 
Saviour  the  first  and  great  commmandment.  And  it 
is  so  called,  because  God,  the  object  of  it,  is  the  first, 
and  greatest,  and  most  excellent  of  all  beings,  who 
plainly  ought  to  have  our  supreme  love — a  love,  to 
which  our  affection  to  every  creature  should  be  subor- 
dinate and  subservient.  Nay,  our  love  to  the  creature 
is  to  flow  from  love  to  God,  as  its  proper  spring  and 
fountain.  Love  to  God,  therefore,  may  well  be  called 
I  the  first  and  great  commandment.  And  in  loving 
him,  let  it  be  observed,  we  are  to  recognize  him  as 
our  God;  our  rightful  Lord  and  sovereign;  our  Cre- 
ator, our  Father,  our  Preserver,  our  Benefactor,  our 
Redeemer,  and  our  Judge;  our  God,  by  every  obliga- 
tion of  equity  and  of  gratitude;  the  source  of  our 
being,  our  enjoyments,  and  our  hopes. 

When  it  is  said  that  we  are  to  love  him  with  all  our 
heart,  soul,  mind,  and  strength,  I  do  not  know  that 
it  is  practicable  or  necessary  to  distinguish  the  exer- 
cises of  love,  as  they  separately  flow  from  each  of 
those  powers,  or  principles  of  our  nature,  which  are 
here  enumerated.  Such  a  distinction,  I  apprehend,  it 
would  be  diflicult,  or  perhaps  impossible,  to  make 
with  accuracy.  The  expression  appears  to  me  to 
have  been  chosen,  as  it  is  admirably  adapted,  to  show 
that  all  our  faculties,  with  all  their  energies,  are  to 
be  exerted  to  the  utmost  in  the  love  of  God:  that 
there  is  no  power,  or  principle  of  our  nature^  which 
this  love  is  not  to  pervade,  animate,  and  command,  at 
all  times,  and  in  a  supreme  degree.  "  We  are  to  prize 
nothing  in  comparison  with  him,  in  our  mind  and 
judgment;  we  are  to  cleave  to  nothing  in  competition 
with  him,  in  our  will ;  we  are  to  desire  nothing  in 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  25 

comparison  with  him,  in  our  affections;  we  are  to 
pursue  nothing  but  with  relation  to  his  glory,  and  in 
subordination  to  his  sacred  will." 

Our  love  to  our  neighbour  is  measured  by  the  rule, 
"  that  we  love  him  as  ourselves."  Here  it  is  fairly 
implied  and  supposed,  that  there  is  a  lawful  love  of 
ourselves;  because  this  is  made  the  measure  and  pat- 
tern, according  to  which  we  should  love  others.  A 
just  distinction  may  be  stated  between  selfishness  and 
self-love.  Selfishness  is  always  criminal.  It  is  seek- 
ing our  own  gratification,  or  emolument,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  just  claims  or  expectations  of  others;  than 
which  nothing  can  be  more  opposite  to  that  law  of 
love  to  our  neighbour,  which  we  are  now  considering. 
But  self-love  is  that  reasonable  and  just  attachment, 
which  a  man  has  to  his  own  rights  and  happiness; 
grounded  on  the  equal  claims  which  he  possesses  as 
an  individual  of  the  species.  It  is  the  dictate  of  na- 
ture, is  necessary  to  self-preservation,  and  is,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  standard  by  which  our  love  to  our 
neighbour  is  to  be  measured. 

I  shall  not  at  present  take  up  your  time  with  dis- 
cussing a  question  on  which  many  subtile  things  might 
be  said;  namely,  are  we  bound  to  love  our  neigh- 
bour as  much  as  ourselves?  One  point  is  clear — place 
your  neighbour  and  yourself,  or  his  property  and 
yours,  in  equal  danger,  and  suppose  it  impossible  that 
you  should  presevere  both,  you  are  certainly  right  to 
take  care  of  yourself  and  property,  before  you  take 
care  of  him  and  his.  The  general  practical  rule  is 
also  clear — do  to  him  as  you  might  reasonably  desire 
that,  in  similar  circumsta7ices,  he  should  do  to  you. 
Consult  his  happiness  and  his  interest,  with  the  same 
sincerity  and  fidelity  that  you  do  your  own;  and  as 
you  would  wish  he  should  consult  yours,  in  an  ex- 
change of  situations. 

The  law  of  love  to  our  neighbour  requires  that  we 
forgive  our  enemies;  that  we  exercise  unfeigned  be- 
nevolence to  all  men ;  and  that  we  possess  and  cherish 
a  sincere  complacency  and  delight,  in  those  who  bear 
the  image  of  our  Heavenly  Father.     The  forgiveness 

VOL.  II. — 3 


26 


LECTURES     ON      THE 


of  enemies  is  a  grand  peculiarity  of  the  gospel  sys- 
tem. It  is  expressly,  repeatedly,  and  most  pointedly 
enjoined  by  our  Lord,  as  essential  to  our  obtaining 
forgiveness  from  God,  or  having  any  claim  to  be  re- 
garded as  his  disciples.  It  forms  the  subject  of  one 
of  six  petitions,  in  which  he  has  comprehended  the 
I  subjects  of  prayer.  He  who  cherishes  a  vindictive 
'  spirit,  therefore,  cannot  be  a  real  Christian.  No  prin- 
ciple of  religion  indeed  does,  or  can  enjoin  us,  to  be- 
lieve what  is  not  true;  and  therefore  we  are  certainly 
not  required  to  believe  that  a  man  has  not  injured  us, 
when  he  lias  actually  and  evidently  done  so.  But 
the  very  notion  o{ forgiveness  implies  injury ;  and  the 
Christian  duty,  as  laid  down  in  the  gospel,  may  be 
briefly  stated  thus.  We  are  never,  on  any  occasion, 
be  the  injury  or  provocation  what  it  may,  to  cher- 
ish or  yield  to  a  desire  of  revenge.  If  the  ofiending 
party  manifest  repentance  and  seek  reconciliation,  we 
are  to  be  cordially  reconciled,  and  to  feel  toward  him, 
as  if  the  oftence  had  never  existed.  If  he  manifests 
no  repentance  or  regret,  but  continues  to  seek  to  in- 
jure us,  we  may  lawfully  guard  ourselves  against 
him,  repel  his  assaults,  and  make  use  of  all  proper 
means  to  obtain  suitable  redress.  Yet  we  are  still  not 
only  to  forbear  vindictive  acts,  but  really  to  wish  him 
well,  to  endeavour,  if  we  have  opportunity,  to  melt 
him  into  love,  by  returning  good  for  evil;  and  we  are 
to  pray  unfeignedly  that  he  may  be  brought  to  repent- 
ance, and  obtain  forgiveness  of  God.  It  ought  also 
to  be  added  here,  that  the  genuine  temper  of  the  gos- 
pel will  dispose  him  who  possesses  it,  to  throw  the 
mantle  of  cJi^rity  over  a  multitude  of  minor  faults  in 
his  neighbour,  so  as  not  only  to  forgive,  but  literally 
to  forget  them  too. 

On  benevolence,  or  good  will,  to  all  mankind,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  dwell  long.  It  consists  in  regarding 
as  brethren,  all  who  partake  of  our  common  nature; 
in  cherishing  a  sincere  desire  to  relieve  all  their  suf- 
ferings, and  to  promote  all  their  interests,  both  tem- 
poral and  spiritual.  It  seems  to  me  that  no  one  who 
possesses  this  essential  characteristic  of  a  Christian, 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  27 

can  think  of  the  ignorance,  and  vice,  and  misery, 
which  he  witnesses  around  him,  or  reflect  on  the 
awful  state  of  the  heathen  world,  without  being  ready 
to  contribute  of  his  substance,  and  to  use  his  best  ex- 
ertions, to  remove  this  moral  wretchedness,  and  to 
save  the  subjects  of  it  from  the  more  fearful  misery  to 
which  they  are  exposed,  in  the  world  to  come. 

Complacency  and  delight  in  the  people  of  God,  and 
because  they  are  his  people  and  bear  his  image,  is  at 
once  the  duty  which  we  owe  to  them,  and  the  evi- 
dence of  our  own  piety.  If  we  love  God,  it  will  cer- 
tainly follow  that  we  shall  love  his  image  or  likeness, 
wherever  we  behold  it;  and  so,  inversely,  if  we  love 
his  image,  we  certainly  love  him  whose  image  it  is. 
Hence  the  apostle  John  declares — "We  know  that 
we  have  passed  from  death  to  life,  because  we  love 
the  brethren."  The  people  of  God  are  all  children  of 
the  same  family,  and  must  and  will  regard  each  other 
as  brethren.  There  is  a  mournful  degree  of  bigotry 
even  among  pious  people.  Be  it  our  care,  my  chil- 
dren, to  avoid  it,  as  much  as  we  can.  Let  us  be  care- 
ful to  hold  the  truth,  and  to  hold  it  fast.  But  wher- 
ever we  see  the  evidence  of  a  true  Christian  temper 
and  practice,  there  let  us  always  see  a  Christian 
brother,  and  let  us  feel  toward  liim  as  such,  and  treat 
him  as  such,  however  he  may  differ  from  us  in  name, 
or  in  some  of  the  circumstantials  and  forms  of  reli- 
gion. 

In  making  some  practical  in}provement  of  the  doc- 
trine, taught  in  the  answers  of  the  Catechism  which, 
have  at  this  time  been  under  consideration,  I  would 
particularly  advert  to  what  has  been  said  on  the  joer- 
fection  of  obedience  which  the  moral  law  requires; 
and  on  its  extent  and  spirituality ,  as  reaching  to  all 
our  thoughts,  feelings,  and  words,  as  well  as  to  all 
the  actions  of  our  lives.  Consider  that  in  every  in- 
stance in  which  you  have  come  short  of  a  perfect 
obedience  to  this  law,  as  well  as  in  every  instance 
in  which  you  have  actively  and  altogether  trans- 
gressed it,  you  have  been  chargeable  with  sin.  Con- 
sider, too,  that  in  no  one  thought,  word,  or  action,  has 


28  LECTURESON      THE 

your  obedience  been  entirely  perfect.  You  will  then 
see,  that  either  by  imperfection  or  actual  transgres- 
sion, guilt  has  been  contracted,  in  every  act  of  your 
whole  existence.  It  is  of  great  practical  importance 
to  have  a  clear  view  of  this  matter,  humbling  and 
awful  as  it  certainly  is;  because  in  this  way  it  is,  that 
the  law  becomes  "  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  to 
Christ."  When  we  see,  as  if  truly  enlightened  we 
shall  see,  that  we  are,  throughout  and  altogether,  pol- 
luted and  vile,  "  that  the  whole  head  is  sick,  and  the 
whole  heart  faint;  that  from  the  sole  of  the  foot,  even 
unto  the  head,  there  is  no  soundness  in  us,  but  wounds 
and  bruises,  and  putrifying  sores."  0!  then  it  is, 
that  we  see  and  feel  that  we  must  have  a  Saviour;  an 
almighty  and  all  sufficient  Saviour;  a  Saviour  whose 
merits  are  infinite;  a  Saviour  to  take  our  law  place, 
and  answer  completely  to  the  violated  law  of  God,  for 
all  our  innumerable  transgressions,  and  our  miuttera- 
ble  guilt.  Then,  with  a  listening  ear,  will  be  heard  the 
precious  offer  of  the  gospel,  presenting  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  to  us,  as  exactly  such  a  Saviour  as  our  ruined 
and  helpless  condition  demands;  and  inviting,  yea 
commanding  us,  to  come  unto  him,  that  he  may  be 
made  of  God  unto  us  all  that  we  need,  "  wisdom,  and 
righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  redemption." 
And  when,  under  the  blessed  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  soul  is  sweetly  and  entirely  drawn  to 
Christ,  and  with  great  delight  commits  itself  entirely 
to  him,  to  be  to  it,  and  do  for  it,  all  that  it  needs,  then 
ensues  peace  of  conscience.  It  is  seen  that  all  the 
demands  of  God's  violated  law,  are  completely  an- 
swered in  behalf  of  the  soul,  by  its  dear  and  adored 
Redeemer;  and  that,  for  his  sake,  God  is  well  pleased 
10  be  reconciled  to  the  penitent  and  believmg  sinner. 
Yea,  that  the  Divine  glory  will  be  made  to  shine 
most  illustriously  and  to  all  eternity,  in  this  very 
way,  by  acts  of  pardoning  mercy,  extended  even 
10  the  chief  of  sinners.  And  the  believing  soul  will 
invariably  find,  that  this  view  of  the  plan  of  salvation 
will  have  a  more  sanctifying  influence,  will  more  in- 
cline it  to  hate  and  avoid  all  sin,  and  inspire  it  with  a 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  29 

Stronger  desire  and  a  firmer  purpose  to  obey  all  the 
commands  of  God,  than  can  be  derived  from  all  legal 
terrors,  or  from  any  other  source.  Here  then,  pre- 
cious youth,  is  the  gospel  plan  of  salvation,  and  the 
gospel  mystery  of  sanctification.  Here  is  the  use  of 
the  moral  law  of  God,  and  the  method  in  which  every 
believer,  while  he  loves  and  honours  and  endeavours 
in  all  things  to  obey  the  law,  as  he  always  must,  will 
still  see,  that  he  can  neither  have  peace  of  conscience 
nor  any  confidence  toward  God,  but  as  he  pleads  and. 
trusts  the  finished,  the  perfect  righteousness,  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  this  way  then,  renouncing 
every  other,  seek  salvation,  and  seek  it  till  in  Christ 
you  find  it,  to  your  present  satisfaction  and  your  eter- 
nal  well  being.     Amen. 


30 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


LECTURE  XXXVI. 


When  God  from  Mount  Sinai,  delivered  the  moral 
law,  as  comprehended  in  the  Decalogue,  he  intro- 
duced it,  as  we  are  informed,  Exodus  xx.  2,  with 
these  solemn  and  emphatic  words — "  I  am  the  Lord 
thy  God,  which  have  brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage."  These  words 
our  Catechism,  with  great  propriety,  denominates — 
"  the  Preface  of  the  Ten  Commandments."  A  pre- 
face is  "  something  spoken  introductory  to  the  main 
design,"*  and  is  intended  to  prepare  the  hearer,  or 
reader,  to  receive  what  follows,  with  better  under- 
standing, and  with  more  attention  and  regard,  than 
might  otherwise  take  place.  And  it  will  appear  that 
the  words  with  which  the  Decalogue  was  introduced, 
are  admirably  calculated  to  produce  these  effects, 
when  we  consider,  as  our  Catechism  affirms,  that 
"the  Preface  to  the  Ten  Commandments  teacheth 
us,  that  because  God  is  the  Lord,  and  our  God  and 
Redeemer,  therefore  we  are  bound  to  keep  all  his 
commandments." 

There  seems  to  be  no  reasonable  ground  whatever, 
for  the  notion  which  some  have  entertained,  that  the 
words  we  consider  were  intended  to  be  a  preface  to 
the  first  commandment  only,  and  not  to  the  rest. 
Some  special  reference  or  application  to  the  first, 
they  may  have;  but  they  direct  our  attention  to  con- 
siderations, which  powerfully  enforce  every  other 
precept  which  follows.  Even  the  duties  which  we 
owe  to  each  other,  derive  their  highest  sanction  from 
the  relation  in  which  we  stand  to  God,  and  from  the 
requirements  of  his  holy  law. 

The  Divine  condescension  in  this  matter,  ought  not 
to  escape  our  notice.  The  great  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth  does  not  rest  his  requisitions  on  authority 
*  Johnson's  Dictionary. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  31 

merely.  He  assigns  the  reasons  why  we  should  yield 
to  his  commands;  the  motives,  in  view  of  which  we 
should,  at  once,  feel  obHged  and  be  persuaded,  to  a  cor- 
dial obedience;  and  thus  he  seeks  to  draw  and  urge  us 
to  our  duty,  by  all  the  considerations  that  should  in- 
fluence rational  beings — by  all  that  can  operate  on 
the  principles  of  gratitude  and  love,  as  well  as  on  our 
sense  of  justice  and  propriety.  In  a  word,  he  acts  in 
this,  not  as  an  arbitrary  sovereign,  but  as  a  tender 
and  affectionate  father. 

The  preface  of  the  ten  commandments  teaches  us, 
1.  That  God  is  the  Lord.  I  have  heretofore  had  oc- 
casion to  observe,  that  the  Hebrew  word  Jehovah  is 
almost  uniformly,  by  our  translators,  rendered  Lord. 
It  is  so  rendered  in  the  present  instance.  Our  Maker 
assigns  it  as  the  first  and  formal  reason  why  we 
should  keep  all  his  commandments,  that  he  is  Jeho- 
vah; that  is,  as  this  name  imports,  "  the  eternal,  im- 
mutable, and  almighty  God,  having  his  being  in  and 
of  himself,  and  giving  being  to  all  his  words  and 
works."*  As  he  is  then  the  source  of  all  existence, 
and  of  all  power,  wisdom,  justice,  goodness,  and 
truth,  he  must  be  seen  and  acknowledged,  by  every 
rational  creature,  to  have  a  right  to  command.  There 
can  be  no  such  tiling  as  rightful  and  reasonable  au- 
thority, if  it  does  not  belong  to  the  Being  whose  power 
is  almighty;  and  who  possesses  every  other  attribute, 
which  can  give  full  assurance  that  the  power  possess- 
ed will  be  wisely,  and  equitably,  and  kindly  exer- 
cised. The  consideration,  therefore,  of  the  very  na- 
ture and  attributes  of  God,  shows  in  the  clearest  man- 
ner, that  we  ought  to  love  and  obey  him  with  all  our 
hearts,  and  with  the  utmost  promptitude  and  cheer- 
fulness. This  is,  and  always  has  been,  the  indispen- 
sable duty  of  every  individual  of  the  human  race. 
Hence  the  preface  to  the  Decalogue,  as  well  as  each 
of  the  commands  which  it  contains,  is  directed  to  in- 
dividuals, and  not  to  communities.  "  I  am  thy  God. 
Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  me."  It  is  a 
personal  concern  of  every  child  of  Adam,  without 

*  Larger  Catechism. 


32 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


any  exception,  and  without  any  excuse  or  delay,  to 
yield  unreserved  obedience  to  God,  in  all  that  He 
commands. 

2.  The  second  reason  or  consideration  which  is  as- 
signed, why  we  should  keep  all  the  commands  of  Jeho- 
vah is,  that  he  is  our  God.    "  I  am  the  Lord  /Ay  God.'' 

The  ancient  Israelites,  to  whom  the  words  "  I  am 
the  Lord  thy  God,"  were  first  addressed,  were  the 
descendants  of  Abraham,  with  whom  and  his  seed, 
Jehovah  had  entered  into  a  solemn  covenant,  and 
given  them  the  rite  of  circumcision,  as  the  sign  and 
seal  of  that  covenant.  At  this  very  time,  they  bore 
the  evidence  of  the  covenant  in  their  flesh.  They 
had  moreover,  the  special  presence  of  Jehovah  among 
them,  and  the  overwhelming  manifestation  of  his 
power  and  majesty  before  their  eyes,  in  the  burning 
mount;  and  had  actually  consented  to  enter,  renew- 
edly  and  formally,  into  covenant  with  Him,  who  now 
uttered  his  voice  from  amidst  the  awful  exhibitions 
of  Sinai.  To  them,  therefore,  the  v/ords  "I  am  thy 
God,"  were  addressed  with  a  peculiar  emphasis.  Je- 
hovah was  the  covenant  God  of  them  and  their  fa- 
thers; he  had  been  faithftil  to  his  covenant;  he  had 
been  astonishingly  compassionate  and  condescending 
to  themselves,  and  they  had,  anew  and  voluntarily, 
consented  to  be  his  j^ecnliar  and  obedient  people.  To 
have  the  Almighty  Sovereign  of  the  universe  thus 
pledged  to  them,  provided  they  should  prove  faithful 
to  their  part  of  the  covenant,  ensured  to  them  privi- 
leges, advantages,  and  blessings,  innumerable  and  of 
inconceivable  value.  By  all  these  considerations  and 
motives,  then,  he  sought  to  secure  their  observance 
of  the  precepts  he  was  about  to  deliver — an  obser- 
vance which  was  to  be  the  test  of  their  fidelity  in 
keeping  the  covenant,  into  which  they  were  going  to 
enter.  It  was  not  expected,  indeed,  that  they  would 
so  observe  the  moral  law  as  to  be  the  ground  of  their 
justification  before  God,  as  a  matter  of  merit;  but  it 
was  required,  that  they  should  exhibit  such  a  cordial 
obedience  to  the  whole  of  this  law,  as  to  show  their 
supreme  love  to  its  Author,  and  thus  prove  that  they 


SHORTER     CATECHISM. 


33 


were  interested  in  that  efficacious  atonement  for  sin 
by  the  promised  Messiah,  which  was  so  strilcingly 
prefigured  in  their  sacrifices,  and  indeed  in  all  their 
institutions.  Such  was  the  pregnant  import  of  the 
words  "  I  am  thy  God,"  to  those  to  whom  they  were 
originally  delivered. 

But  these  words,  my  dear  youth,  are  as  really  ad- 
dressed to  us,  as  they  were  to  the  Israelites  at  Sinai. 
The  moral  law,  then  promnlged,  was  intended  to  be 
as  binding  under  the  gospel,  as  under  the  Mosaic 
dispensation.  It  was  sanctioned  both  by  the  words 
and  by  the  example  of  the  Saviour.  It  was,  indeed, 
to  restore  its  honours  by  his  obedience,  and  to  endure 
its  awful  penalty  in  behalf  of  his  people,  that  he  came 
into  our  world.  This  law  is  therefore  of  everlasting 
and  unchangeable  obligation;  and  although,  as  you 
have  frequently  heard  in  these  lectures,  believers  in 
Christ  are  not  under  it  as  a  covenant  of  works,  since, 
in  that  view  of  it,  all  its  demands  were  answered  by 
their  Surety  and  in  their  behalf;  yet  their  observance 
of  it  as  a  rule  of  life,  is  the  test  of  their  discipleship, 
and  the  evidence  of  their  union  with  him  as  their 
covenant  head.  Hence  the  words,  "  I  am  your  God," 
apply  with  as  much  force  to  professing  Christians  as 
to  the  ancient  Israelites.  Nay,  since  we  have  more 
light  and  richer  blessings  than  were  vouchsafed  to 
them,  our  obligations  are  even  more  numerous,  ten- 
der, and  touching  than  theirs.  Remember,  I  beseech 
you,  my  young  friends,  that  you  have  been  brought 
under  the  most  solemn  obligations  to  consider  the 
God  of  Israel  as  yom^  God.  You  have  recognized 
these  obligations,  in  every  act  of  religious  worship  in 
which  you  have  professed  to  join:  for  whom  do  you 
worship,  but  Him  whom  you  avow  to  be  yoin'  God? 
and  those  of  you  who  have  been  dedicated  to  God  in 
holy  baptism,  have  been  formally  and  solemnly  placed 
under  the  bonds  of  this  covenant.  You  have  been 
consecrated  to  Jehovah,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 
You  are  bound  to  be  his,  by  every  awful  and  endear- 
ing tie.  He  is  emphatically  your  God,  and  you  are 
bound  to  be  his  people — bound  to  be  for  him  and  not 


34 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


for  another.  Nor  can  you,  wilhout  guilt  and  follv 
that  has  no  parallel,  regard  these  obligations  as  a  bur- 
den. They  are,  on  the  contrary,  connected  with  pri- 
vileges and  blessings,  beyond  the  power  of  language 
to  describe.  If  you  do  not  violate  your  obligations 
to  be  the  Lord's,  if  you  truly  comply  with  the  terms 
of  the  gospel  covenant,  a  faithful  and  covenant-keep- 
ing God  will,  on  his  part,  grant  you  all  the  blessings 
of  that  covenant.  He  will,  so  to  speak,  give  you 
Himself  He  will  be  to  you  all  that  the  infinite  Je- 
hovah can  be,  to  creatures  of  your  limited  capacity. 
As  a  pious  writer  expresses  it,  "  He  will  make  over 
all  his  glorious  attributes  and  excellences  to  be  yours; 
his  infinity  to  be  the  extent  of  your  inheritance;  his 
eternity  to  be  the  date  of  your  happiness;  his  un- 
changeableness  to  be  the  rock  of  your  rest;  his  wis- 
dom to  direct  you;  his  power  to  protect  you;  his  ho- 
liness to  sanctify  you;  his  justice  to  acquit  you;  his 
goodness  to  reward  you,  in  the  way  of  grace,  not  of 
debt,  and  his  truth  to  secure  to  you  the  accomplish- 
ment of  all  his  promises."*  Who  can  express  or  con- 
ceive all  the  obligations,  by  which  we  are  bound  to 
regard  Jehovah  as  our  God,  and  as  such  to  keep  all 
his  conimandments! 

3.  God  is  our  Redeemer.  "  I  have  brought  thee 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bon- 
dage." The  claims  which  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Is- 
rael, had  on  the  gratitude,  confidence,  and  obedience 
of  his  ancient  chosen  people,  in  consideration  of  his 
freeing  them  from  their  grievous  bondage  in  Egypt, 
were  no  doubt  of  the  strongest  kind.  Their  oppres- 
sion and  sufferings  had  been  extreme;  and  the  inter- 
position of  their  Omnipotent  deliverer  was  marked  by 
miracle,  at  every  step.  Not  only  had  he  completely 
emancipated  them  from  the  most  cruel  and  abject 
slavery,  when  they  were  utterly  unable  to  do  any 
thing  for  their  own  relief,  but  he  had  destroyed  their 
proud  oppressor  and  all  his  armed  host,  and  had 
given  their  spoil  to  them — his  liberated  and  joyful 
people.     That  this  people  should  willingly  and  unre- 

*  Fisher. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM. 


35 


servedly  obey  all  the  commands  of  a  Deliverer  of 
such  unbounded  wisdom,  power  and  goodness,  and 
to  whom  they  were  under  such  peculiar  obligations, 
was  what  common  sense  and  common  gratitude 
would  instantly  enforce  and  urge,  in  the  most  decisive 
manner.  It  therefore  needed  only  to  be  mentioned,  yet 
it  was  peculiarly  proper  that  it  should  be  mentioned, 
when  a  code  of  moral  laws  was  about  to  be  enacted 
by  this  Almighty  Benefactor,  for  the  obedience  of  the 
people  who  owed  him  so  many  obligations. 

This  deliverance  from  Egyptian  bondage,  how- 
ever, was  typical  of  a  far  greater  deliverance — the 
deliverance  of  the  people  of  God  from  the  slavery  of 
sin  and  Satan,  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  their  divine 
Redeemer.  How  much  of  this  spiritual  deliverance 
was  apprehended  by  the  ancient  Hebrews,  we  can- 
not precisely  tell.  The  substance  of  it  must  have 
been  perceived,  by  those  who  had  spiritual  discern- 
ment. That  Christ  was  typified  by  the  Passover  in- 
stituted in  Egypt,  and  that  the  Rock  which  supplied 
them  with  water  in  the  wilderness  was  emblematical 
of  Christ,  and  indeed  that  nearly  the  whole  of  their 
institutions  were  symbolical  of  his  character  and 
work,  we  learn  from  the  unerring  oracles  of  God. 
Zacharias  also  appears  to  allude  to  the  Egyptian,  as 
well  as  to  other  deliverances,  which  his  people  had 
experienced,  when,  in  anticipation  of  the  birth  of  the 
Messiah,  then  near  at  hand,  he  said,  "  Blessed  be  the 
Lord  God  of  Israel,  who  hath  visited  and  redeemed 
his  people;"  and  he  goes  on  to  recognize  in  that  event 
the  fulfilment  of  all  the  prophecies,  and  the  oath  of 
God  to  Abraham,  "  that  he  would  grant  unto  us,  that 
we,  being  delivered  out  of  the  hand  of  our  enemies, 
might  serve  him  without  fear,  in  holiness  and  right- 
eousness before  him,  all  the  days  of  our  life."  There 
is  therefore  no  force  put  on  the  words,  when  the  au- 
thors of  our  Catechism  consider  them  as  pointing  to 
the  redemption  of  Christ,  and  as  teaching  us  to  con- 
sider God  as  our  Redeemer  from  a  thraldom,  infi- 
nitely worse  in  its  nature  and  consequences,  than  that 
which  the  Hebrews  suffered,  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 


36 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


Recollect  that  it  was  God  our  Redeemer — that  it 
was  "  Immanuel,  God  with  us," — who,  from  the  top 
of  Sinai,  delivered  the  ten  commandments,  as  a  moral 
law,  for  the  guidance  of  all  men  in  the  performance  of 
their  various  duties — recollect  that  it  was  he  who  loved 
his  people  with  a  love  that  was  stronger  than  death; 
that  it  was  he  who  gave  his  life  for  theirs;  that  it  was 
he  who  raised  them  from  being  heirs  of  hell  to  be  the 
heirs  of  heaven — recollect  that  he  it  was,  who  gave 
us  all  these  precepts;  and  that  he  gave  them,  not  less 
with  a  view  to  our  own  best  interest,  than  as  a  test  of 
our  obedience  and  attachment  to  himself — recollect 
all  this,  and  then  say,  whether  the  conclusion  of  our 
Catechism  be  not  well  and  strongly  made,  that  "be- 
cause the  Lord  is  our  God  and  Redeemer,  there- 
fore we  are  bound  to  keep  all  his  commandments." 

I  am  particularly  solicitous,  my  young  friends,  now 
that  we  are  entering  on  the  consideration  of  the  mo- 
ral law  of  God,  that  you  should  take  that  view  of  it 
which  has  just  been  given;  and  that  you  should  keep 
it  in  mind,  through  the  whole  of  the  ensuing  lectures 
on  the  precepts  of  the  decalogue.  If  you  will  con- 
sider God,  in  the  character  of  your  Redeemer,  as  de- 
livering these  commandments,  they  will  come  with 
the  most  powerful  appeals  to  your  hearts  and  con- 
sciences, and  you  will,  at  the  same  time,  view  an 
obedience  to  them  in  its  true  light — not  as  something 
that  will  merit  heaven,  but  only  as  the  proof  and  evi- 
dence of  real,  cordial  love  to  the  holy  law  of  God,  and 
of  your  discipleship,  as  the  sincere  followers  of  him 
who  has  redeemed  you.  Do  you  not  perceive  that 
the  very  notion  and  name  of  a  Redeemer,  implies  that 
you  were  captives  to  sin  and  Satan?  And  if  so,  and 
you  had  nothing  to  pay,  and  must  owe  your  deliver- 
ance entirely  to  him,  ought  he  not  to  have  the  glory 
of  the  whole?  Suppose  your  obedience,  henceforth 
to  the  end  of  life,  could  be  perfect,  would  that  cancel 
your  former  debt?  Would  you  not  still  owe  ten  thou- 
sand talents  to  the  law  and  justice  of  God,  for  your 
past  transgressions?  Bat  this  supposition  is  never 
realized.     No  mere  man,  since  the  fall,  ever  did,  or 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  37 

ever  will,  obey  the  law  of  God  perfectly,  in  this  life; 
and  therefore  will  need  constant  pardon  for  the  im- 
perfection of  his  present  obedience,  as  well  as  for  his 
previously  aggravated  and  accumulated  guilt.     You 
perceive,  then,  that  you  must  be  indebted  to  the  bound- 
less grace  of  God  in  the  Redeemer,  for  the  whole  of 
your  salvation.     Yet  this  ought  not  to  diminish,  but 
greatly  to  increase,  your  sense  of  obligation  to  obey 
his  commandments?     The  inherent  excellence,  and 
indispensable  obligation  of  the   moral   law  of  God, 
contained  in  the  ten  commandments,  is  no  where  so 
clearly  and  strikingly  seen,  as  in  the  whole  process  of 
that  redemption  which  Christ  hath  wrought  out,  for 
all  who  believe  in  him.     If  it  had  not  been  a  good, 
reasonable,  equitable,  and  holy  law  in  itself,  he  would 
surely  never  have  consented  to  be  made  under  it,  to 
obey  it  perfectly,  and  to  bear  its  penalty  to  the  ut- 
most.    But  if  the  law  is  good  and  excellent  in  itself, 
all  who  love  goodness  and  excellence  must  love  this 
law;  and  if  they  love  it,  they  will  try  to  the  utmost  to 
obey  it ;  for  it  is  a  gross  absurdity  to  pretend  to  love  a 
law,  which  we  habitually  allow  ourselves  to  disregard 
and  violate.    The  very  nature  of  a  law  implies  the  de- 
mand of  obedience ;  and  if  we  love  the  demand  of 
obedience,  we  shall  assuredly  render  obedience.  Tiiis 
obedience,  moreover,  in  the  present  instance,  is  the 
appointed  expression  of  our  gratitude  and   love  to 
Christ.     This  is  his  own  test — '•  If  ye  love  me,  keep 
my  commandments."     Thus  you  see  that  if  you  are 
right-minded,  you  will  strive  to  walk  by  the  moral 
law  as  a  rule  of  life,  both  because  you  love  it  for  its 
own  excellence,  and  because  this  is  to  be  the  proof  of 
your  gratitude  and  love  to  your  Saviour.     This  is 
what  is  called  evangelical  obedience,  and  new  obe- 
dience— an  obedience  rendered  from  the  new  princi- 
ple of  love — not  from  the  slavish  principle  of  fear,  nor 
the   mercenary  principle  of  purchasing  or  meriting 
heaven.     May  the  Spirit  of  all  grace  incline  us  all  to 
such  an  obedience,  to  all  the  commandments  of  God 
our  Redeemer;  and  to  his  name  shall  be  all  the  praise, 
both  now  and  evermore — Amen. 


38  LECTURES    ON    THE 


LECTURE  XXXVII. 


"The  first  commandment  is — Thou  shalt  have  no 
other  gods  before  me." 

The  first  commandment  requireth  us  to  know,  and 
acknowledge  God,  to  be  the  only  true  God,  and  our 
God;  and  to  worship  and  glorify  him  accordingly." 

It  may  be  observed,  lliat  all  the  commandments 
are  delivered  in  the  form  of  prohibitions,  except  the 
fourth  and  fifth,  which  would  scarcely  allow  of  a  ne- 
gative expression.  The  reason  of  this  no  doubt  is, 
that  prohibitions  admit  of  no  exceptions;  they  oblige, 
as  I  have  heretofore  shown,  always  and  at  all  times. 
It  is  in  this  form,  moreover,  that  a  summary,  which 
the  decalogue  was  intended  to  be,  can  most  intelligi- 
bly and  completely  be  given. 

Prohibitions,  I  have  also  remarked,  especially  when 
the  subjects  of  them  are  highly  important,  always 
imply  an  obligation  to  perform  certain  duties,  whicli 
ar^  their  opposites;  and  in  like  manner,  positive  pre- 
cepts always  imply  the  forbidding  of  those  things 
which  would  be  a  neglect  or  violation  of  the  duties 
required.  But  in  addition  to  these  implications,  the 
preface  of  the  ten  commandments,  which  v/e  have 
already  considered,  strongly  indicates  the  positive 
duties  of  supreme  love  and  gratitude  to  our  Creator 
and  Redeemer,  and  that  to  worship  and  obey  him  in 
all  that  he  requires  in  his  revealed  will,  is,  in  the 
highest  degree,  obligatory  on  all  his  rational  and  moral 
creatures — Hence  the  propriety  of  considering,  as  the 
framers  of  our  catechism  have  done,  what  is  required, 
and  what  is  forbidden,  in  each  commandment.  In 
the  first  commandment,  moreover,  a  special  conside- 
ration of  the  highest  importance  is  included;  and  to 
the  four  commandments  which  imuiediately  follow 
the  first,  reasons  are  subjoined  by  tlie  supreme  Law 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  39 

Giver;  all  of  which  have  justly  received  the  special 
notice  of  the  authors  of  this  excellent  summary  of 
Christian  duty. 

In  duties  themselves  there  is  an  order^  which  it  is 
of  much  importance  to  observe.  There  is  scarcely  a 
greater  or  more  mischievous  error,  than  one  which 
has  found  advocates,  even  among  some  who  profess 
a  regard  to  revealed  truth;  namely,  that  the  principal 
service  which  God  requires  of  us,  and  which  of  course 
we  need  to  be  much  concerned  about,  is  the  perform- 
ance oi  social  duties — the  duties  of  justice  and  bene- 
volence to  our  fellow  men.  Now,  that  social  duties 
constitute  an  indispensable  part  of  all  true  religion, 
we  both  admit  and  inculcate.  But  we  maintain  that 
the  duties  first  in  rank  and  importance,  are  those 
which  we  owe  immediately  to  God,  our  Creator  and 
Redeemer;  that  he  is  infinitely  the  greatest  and  best 
of  all  beings,  and  that  if  reverence,  love,  service  and 
worship,  be  due  to  Him  at  all,  our  obligations  to  these 
must,  of  necessity,  be  higher  and  more  sacred  than 
any  other.  We  also  insist,  and  we  appeal  to  all 
experience  and  observation  to  confirm  the  position, 
that  our  social  duties  themselves,  not  only  derive 
their  highest  sanction  from  the  command  and  au- 
thority of  God,  but  are  never  so  carefully  and  exten- 
sively performed,  as  by  those  who  preserve  on  their 
minds  a  constant  sense  of  the  presence  of  the  Deity, 
and  of  their  responsibility  to  him — which  is  to  be 
effected  only  by  a  holy  intercourse,  maintained  with 
Him,  in  the  acts  of  his  immediate  worship.  These 
observations, although  in  substance  made  in  a  former 
part  of  these  lectures,  are  introduced  at  this  time,  be- 
cause they  receive  the  most  powerful  confirmation, 
by  the  order  in  which  the  precepts  of  the  moral  law 
have  been  delivered  to  us  by  God  himself.  The  first 
four  commands  of  the  decalogue,  you  will  observe, 
relate  to  the  duty  which  we  owe  directly  to  Him; 
thus  laying  the  m  ost  solid  foundation  for  the  six  which 
follow,  in  relation  to  the  duties  which  we  owe  to  each 
other.     We    may  even  proceed  a  step  further,  and 


40  LECTURESONTHE 

remark  that  the  first  command  forms,  as  it  were,  a 
basis  for  all  the  rest  :*  this  command  teaches  us  the 
exclusive  and  absolute  supremacy  of  Jehovah,  as  our 
God  and  Redeemer,  and  the  righteous  claim  which 
he  has  to  our  highest  love  and  unreserved  obedience; 
and  these  lie  at  the  foundation  of  the  whole  law,  so 
that  without  a  cordial  reception  of  these  truths,  we 
shall  never  render  a  careful  or  an  acceptable  obedi- 
ence to  any  subsequent  precept. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  consider  in  detail,  the  requi- 
sitions of  the  first  commandment,  as  specified  in  our 
Catechism.  These  may  be  considered  under  three 
particulars,  the  first  of  which  is, 

"To  know  and  acknowledge  God  to  be  the  only 
true  God." 

Belief  in  the  existence  and  perfections  of  God,  is 
the  foundation  of  all  religion.  Some  notion  of  a  Su- 
preme Being,  as  heretofore  more  particularly  shown,t 
is  either  a  dictate  of  nature,  or  has  been  a  matter  of 
such  universal  tradition,  that  it  has  been  found  among 
the  most  savage  and  barbarous  people.  The  possi- 
bility, and  even  the  facility,  of  discovering  the  exist- 
ence of  God  by  the  light  of  nature,  seems  to  be  dis- 
tinctly asserted  by  the  apostle,  when  he  says,  (Rom. 
i.  20,)  ''  The  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation 
of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by 
the  things  which  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power 

*  Ridgley's  remark  on  the  location  of  the  first  commandment  is 
exceedingly  pertinent  and  just.  He  says — "It  is  fitly  placed  before 
all  the  other  commandments,  because  it  is,  from  the  nature  of  the 
thing,  necessary  to  our  performing  the  duties  which  are  required  in 
them.  The  object  of  worship  must  first  be  known,  before  wc  can 
apply  ourselves,  in  a  right  manner,  to  perform  any  duty  prescribed, 
whether  respecting  God  or  man." 

t  In  order  to  preserve  the  connexion  of  those  principles  and  facts 
that  must  always  be  conjoined  in  reasoning,  the  author  has  thought 
it  right  to  repeat,  with  a  little  variation  in  the  language,  some  things 
which  are  staled  and  enlarged  upon,  in  some  of  the  first  lectures  of 
his  course.  It  was  thought  better  to  do  this,  than  to  be  constantly 
making  references,  which,  if  made,  many  would  not  regard,  and  thus 
would  lose  the  force  of  the  reasoning.  Let  tiiis  be  considered  as  aia 
apology,  made  once  for  all,  for  the  repetitions  which  may  hereafter 
fippear. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  41 

and  Godhead ;  so  that  they  are  without  excuse."  But 
this  notwithstanding,  a  knowledge  of"  the  true  God," 
as  the  apostle  in  the  same  place  distinctly  shows,  was 
nearly  banished  from  the  earth.  The  most  learned 
and  polished  nations,  in  the  ancient  world,  were  so 
far  from  preserving  this  knowledge,  that  they  multi- 
plied their  false  gods  to  an  unparalleled  degree.  The 
polytheism  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  Babylonians, 
Carthaginians,  Greeks  and  Romans,  was  more  gross 
and  multifarious  than  that  of  any  other  people.  It 
was  to  preserve  in  the  earth  the  knowledge  and 
worship  of  the  true  God,  that  Abraham  was  called 
away  from  his  idolatrous  kindred,  and  that  the  nation 
that  descended  from  him  was  made  a  peculiar  people 
— the  depositaries  of  the  oracles  and  institutions  of 
Jehovah.  The  first  precept  of  the  moral  law,  which 
we  now  consider,  was  intended  specially  to  guard 
against  the  sin  of  forsaking  the  true  God,  for  the  wor- 
ship of  idols ;  and  yet,  with  every  guard  that  could  be 
placed  around  them,  they  were  incessantly  lapsing 
into  idolatry,  till  they  were  effectually  cured  of  this 
propensity  by  their  seventy  years  captivity  in  Baby- 
lon. 

That  Jehovah  is  the  "  only  God,"  or  God  alone,  is 
the  great  fundamental  truth  of  revelation.  The  unity 
of  God  is  indeed  a  part  of  what  is  called  natural  reli- 
gion; because  reason  teaches  the  infinity  of  the  Su- 
preme Being,  and  one  supreme  and  independent 
Being  does  not  admit  of  any  more.  The  multiplica- 
tion of  deities,  however,  where  the  light  of  revelation 
has  not  prevented  it,  has  been  imiversal.  In  India, 
at  the  present  day,  they  reckon  many  thousand  ob- 
jects of  worship,  among  the  native  heathen. 

Nor  is  a  belief  in  the  unity  of  the  Godhead  always 
accompanied  with  a  just  apprehension  of  the  Divine 
character;  or,  in  other  words,  a  knowledge  of  the 
true  God.  Not  only  have  the  Mohammedans,  who 
make  the  unity  of  God  an  essential  article  of  their 
creed,  very  erroneous  and  unworthy  conceptions  of 
his  nature  and  attributes,  but  the  same  is  true  of 
Deists,  who  live  under  the  full  light  of  divine  reve- 

VOL.    II. — 4 


42  LECTURES     ON     THE 

lation.  Nay,  unsanctified  men  in  general,  have  no 
adequate  perceptions  of  the  true  God.  They  do  not 
contemplate  him  in  his  "  whole  round  of  attributes 
complete."  They  do  not,  especially,  view  him  as 
perfect  in  his  moral  purity,  and  as  inflexibly  just — a 
holy,  sin  hating,  and  sin  punishing  God.  Hence  they 
often  vainly  think  that  they  love  him,  and  that  he 
also  regards  them  with  approbation.  The  Psalmist, 
speaking  of  the  wicked,  says,  "  Thou  thoughtest  that 
I  was  altogether  such  an  one  as  thyself;  but  I  will 
reprove  thee,  and  set  them  (that  is,  thy  sins,)  in  order 
before  thee."  My  dear  youth,  you  ought  to  be  sen- 
sible, that  false  and  inadequate  ideas  of  God  are  a 
principal  cause  why  unrenewed  men  are  at  ease  in 
their  sins.  If  they  suitably  apprehended  him  to  be 
what  he  is,  "  a  consuming  fire"  to  the  wicked,  they 
could  not  be  at  peace  with  themselves,  without  being 
reconciled  to  him  and  making  him  their  friend. 

We  have  a  declaration  of  some  of  the  chief  attri- 
butes of  the  true  God,  made  by  himself,  and  made, 
it  should  be  remembered,  at  the  time  he  inscribed  the 
precepts  we  are  considering  on  two  tables  of  stone, 
with  his  own  finger.  It  is  said  (Exod.  xxxiv.  6,  7,) 
"  And  the  Lord  passed  by  before  him  (Moses)  and 
proclaimed,  the  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and 
gracious,  long  suffering  and  abundant  in  goodness 
and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving 
iniquity  and  transgression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by 
no  means  clear  the  guilty;  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children,  and  upon  the  children's 
children,  unto  the  third  and  to  the  fourth  generation." 
It  appears  to  have  been  the  design  of  Jehovah,  in 
these  memorable  words,  to  proclaim  his  moral  attri- 
butes only;  the  occasion  particularly  requiring  this, 
when  his  covenant  people,  after  their  shameful  fall 
into  idolatry,  were  again  to  be  received  into  his  fa- 
vour, A  summary  expression  of  all  the  attributes  of 
the  true  God,  so  far  as  made  known  to  us  in  his 
works  and  in  his  word,  is  given  in  an  answer  to  the 
question  in  our  Catechism,  "  What  is  God  ?"  The 
answer,  you  recollect,  is — ''  God  is  a  spirit,  infinite, 


SHORTER     CATECHISM,  43 

eternal,  and  unchangeable,  in  his  being,  wisdom, 
power,  holiness,  justice,  goodness,  and  truth."  To 
what  was  said  in  the  lectures  in  which  this  compre- 
hensive answer  was  discussed,  I  must  refer  you,  for 
a  more  enlarged  and  particular  view  of  the  character 
of  the  true  God. 

We  must  not,  however,  pass  from  the  particular 
now  under  consideration,  without  remarking — and  it  is 
with  deep  concern  that  I  make  the  remark — that  if  the 
one  true  God  has  revealed  himself  to  us,  as  we  most 
firmly  believe  he  has,  as  existing  in  three  persons. 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  then  those  who  reject 
this  truth,  do  not  know  and  cannot  worship  the  true 
God;  the  being  they  worship  is  not  the  Jehovah  re- 
vealed in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  They  do  not  come  to 
the  Father  in  the  only  way  of  access,  through  the 
mediation  of  the  Son,  and  by  the  sought  and  sacred 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  "I  am  the  way  and 
the  truth  and  the  life,"  said  the  Saviour,  "  no  man 
Cometh  nnto  the  Father  but  by  me. — He  that  honour- 
eth  not  the  Son,  honoureth  not  the  Father  who  hath 
sent  him."  Through  him,  (Jesus  Christ)  saith  the 
apostle,  "  we  both  (Jews  and  Gentiles)  have  access, 
by  one  Spirit,  unto  the  Father." 

Nor  must  the  point  we  here  consider  be  left  with- 
out reminding  you  distinctly,  that  the  knowledge  and 
acknowledgment  of  the  only  true  God  must  he  prac- 
tical, as  well  as  speculative,  if  we  would  derive  from 
it  the  saving  benefit  which  it  was  intended  to  con- 
vey. It  is  possible  to  "  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteous- 
ness." A  speculative  knowledge  of  God,  however 
correct,  if  it  consist  in  barren  inefficient  notions,  or 
be  only  carelessly  or  formally  made,  will  not  save  or 
profit  our  souls:  it  will  only  serve,  if  persisted  in,  to' 
aggravate  our  condemnation.  The  knowledge  and 
acknowledgment  of  God,  in  order  to  be  beneficial  and 
saving,  must  be  practical.  We  must  have  such  a 
lively  apprehension  of  his  relation  to  us,  as  is  accom- 
panied with  an  habitual  conformity  to  his  will  in 
heart  and  life;  and  we  must  own,  avouch,  and  con- 
fess him,  as  the  only  true  God,  in  our  secret  and  so- 


44  LECTURES    ON     THE 

cial  worship  of  him,  and  if  opportunity  be  afforded, 
by  an  open  profession  of  our  attachment  and  devo- 
tion to  him,  before  the  world — "  With  the  mouth  con- 
fession is  made  unto  salvation." 

The  second  particular  mentioned  in  the  answer 
before  us,  as  a  requirement  of  the  first  command- 
ment, is,  the  acknowledging  of  the  only  true  God  as 
our  God.  This  has,  in  a  degree,  been  unavoidably 
anticipated.  Yet  a  most  important  consideration  re- 
mains to  be  noticed  here;  which  is,  that  the  Lord 
Jehovah  can  never  be  our  God,  in  the  sense  of  this 
answer,  and  we  know  and  acknowledge  him  as  such, 
except  as  he  is  manifested  to  us,  and  as  we  are  recon- 
ciled to  him,  in  and  through  Christ  Jesus,  the  Media- 
tor of  the  new  covenant.  The  covenant  of  works 
was  made  with  man  at  his  creation;  and  while  he 
retained  his  primitive  rectitude  and  holiness,  man 
could,  without  a  Mediator,  look  to  Jehovah  as  his 
God,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  holy  angels  still  do — 
could  see  in  his  Creator  a  God  in  covenant,  all  whose 
attributes  were  engaged  to  insure  his  happiness.  But 
when  the  covenant  of  works  was  violated  on  the 
part  of  man,  Jehovah  was  no  longer  his  God,  in  any 
sense  implying  friendship!  The  parties  respectively 
were  completely  at  variance.  Man  had  become  a 
rebel,  and  Jehovah  was  to  him  "a  consuming  fire." 
Hence,  in  the  very  announcement  of  a  plan  for  the 
reconciliation  of  the  sinful  rebel  to  his  rightful  and 
holy  Sovereign,  a  Mediator  was  promised — promised 
as  a  part  of  the  plan  itself — "  The  seed  of  the  woman 
shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head."  From  that  period 
to  the  end  of  time,  not  an  individual  of  the  human 
race  has  been,  or  ever  can  be,  in  friendship  with  Je- 
hovah, but  through  the  intervention  of  the  appointed 
Mediator,  Christ  Jesus  the  righteous.  It  is  only  "  in 
Christ,"  that  "God  is  reconciling  the  world  unto  him- 
self, not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them."  In 
order  to  reconciliation,  therefore,  man  must  feel  and 
confess  himself  a  sinner,  lost  and  undone,  and  justly 
exposed  to  the  curse  of  the  law  which  he  has  broken, 
and  to  the  wrath  of  God,  of  whose  law  that  curse  is 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  45 

the  penalty.  In  seeking  the  unmerited  friendship  of 
his  Maker,  he  must  cordially  approve  of  the  method 
of  reconciliation  through  a  Mediator.  Into  the  hands 
of  this  Mediator,  as  having  borne  the  curse,  and  satis- 
fied all  the  demands  of  the  violated  law  in  his  room 
and  stead,  he  must  unreservedly  commit  his  soul; 
sincerely  desirous  that  Christ  Jesus  may  "  be  made 
of  God  unto  him  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and 
sanctification,  and  redemption."  The  method  of  re- 
conciliation appointed  by  God  being  thus  fully  com- 
plied with,  the  believing  and  penitent  sinner  may 
now,  with  holy  confidence  and  humble  assurance, 
look  to  God  as  his  God;  a  God  truly  in  covenant 
with  his  soul,  and  engaged  to  confer  on  him,  in  time 
and  in  eternity,  all  the  blessings  of  the  covenant — of 
that  new  covenant  which  is  sealed  with  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  the  accepted  testator  and  surety.  In  this  way — 
the  only  way  in  which  it  can  ever  be  done — may  you 
and  I,  beloved  youth,  be  brought  to  prefer  an  humble 
claim  to  the  Lord  Jehovah  as  our  God.  We  shall 
then  be  prepared  "to  worship  and  glorify  him  accord- 
ingly." This  is  the  third  and  last  thing  contained  in 
the  answer  before  us. 

A  very  general  and  summary  statement  of  what  is 
implied  in  this  clause  of  the  answer,  is  all  that  can 
here  be  given;  for  to  worship  and  glorify  God  accord- 
ing to  his  true  character,  as  the  only  true  God  and 
our  God,  implies,  or  comprehends  almost  every  Chris- 
tian duty.     Let  it  then  suffice,  in  this  place,  to  say, 

1.  That  we  must  frequently  and  most  reverently 
meditate  on  his  being  and  his  glorious  attributes, 
viewing  him  as  the  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Benefac- 
tor of  the  universe,  and  as  possessing,  in  an  infinite 
degree,  all  conceivable  excellence  and  perfection,  both 
natural  and  moral.  We  must  think  much  of  his  be- 
ing constantly  present  with  us,  knowing  us  more 
perfectly  than  we  know  ourselves,  searching  the  se- 
crets of  our  hearts,  and  marking  in  the  book  of  his 
remembrance,  every  thought,  word,  and  action  of  our 
whole  lives.   He  must  be  much  in  our  thoughts  when 


46  LECTURES    ON     THE 

we  rise  up,  and  when  we  lie  down;  so  that  we  may 
be  able  to  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "  My  meditation  of 
him  shall  be  sweet,  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord:  I  re- 
member thee  upon  my  bed,  and  meditate  on  thee  in 
the  night  watches."  We  ought  particularly  to  medi- 
tate much  on  the  infallible  truth  of  God — "  His  word 
is  truth,"  Every  promise  he  has  made,  and  every 
threatening  he  has  uttered,  he  will  assuredly  accom- 
plish. "Till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot,  or  one 
tittle,  shall  in  no  wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be 
fulfilled." 

2.  We  must  possess  and  cherish  a  supreme  love  to 
God.  We  must  give  him  the  undivided  throne  of  our 
hearts.  With  a  holy  awe  of  his  greatness  and  glori- 
ous majesty,  we  must  mingle  the  sentiments  of  filial 
affection  towards  him,  as  the  best  of  fathers.  Hence 
we  must  trust  in  him,  even  when  clouds  and  dark- 
ness are  round  about  him,  and  submit  to  all  the  dis- 
pensations of  his  providence  towards  us  or  others,  as 
right,  and  wise,  and  good.  We  must  contemplate  him 
much  as  our  chief  good,  and  satisfying  portion.  We 
must  regard  "  his  favour  as  life,  and  his  loving  kind- 
ness as  better  than  life."  We  must  so  delight  our- 
selves in  God,  as  to  know  what  it  is  to  say  from  the 
heart,  "Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee,  and  there 
is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire  beside  thee." 

3.  We  must  often  look  to  him  as  our  covenant  God 
in  Christ;  and  frequently  renew  and  call  to  mind  our 
covenant  relation  to  him.  Here  especially  it  is,  that 
we  must  recognize  Jehovah  as  emphatically  oicr  God 
— viewing  him  as  a  sin  pardoning  God,  who  blotteth 
out  all  our  transgressions  freely,  in  the  atoning  blood 
of  Christ;  as  adopting  us  as  his  children,  and  making 
us  co-heirs  with  his  own  Son  our  Saviour;  and  as  en- 
gaged to  work  in  our  hearts  by  his  Holy  Spirit  every 
Christian  grace,  and  to  keep  us  by  his  almighty  power 
"  through  faith  unto  salvation."  It  is  also,  in  the  glo- 
rious plan  of  redemption  by  Christ,  that  the  child  of 
God  sees  the  brightest  displays  of  the  divine  power, 
wisdom,  condescension,  goodness,  grace,  and   love 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  4T 

— sees,  in  a  word,  all  the  attributes  of  the  blessed  God 
meeting,  harmonizing,  and  shining  in  the  most  re- 
splendent manner.  This,  therefore  will  be  the  favour- 
ite and  delightful  theme  of  his  meditations. 

4.  In  all  the  ways  or  methods  appointed  by  himself, 
we  must  "  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,"  and 
find  our  highest  pleasure  in  commimion  with  him — 
in  prayer  and  praise — ejaculatory,  secret,  social,  and 
public;  in  all  the  services  of  the  sanctuary  or  house 
of  God,  there  joining  with  his  people  in  public  adora- 
tions, supplications,  thanksgivings,  and  devotional 
songs;  listening  to  the  messages  of  his  grace  from 
his  word  preached;  and  taking  the  seals  of  his  cove- 
nant, in  the  sacraments  of  the  New  Testament.  It  is 
by  the  service  of  God  in  his  house,  that  we  do,  in  an 
especial  manner  avouch,  before  the  world,  the  Lord 
Jehovah  to  be  our  God. 

5.  We  must  glorify  God  by  a  sincere  and  impartial 
regard  and  obedience  to  all  his  commandments,  whe- 
ther they  relate  immediately  to  him,  to  our  neighbour, 
or  to  ourselves;  by  unreservedly  consecrating  our- 
selves, with  all  that  he  has  given  to  us,  to  his  service 
and  glory;  by  manifesting  a  holy  zeal  for  his  name, 
cause,  and  honour,  whatever  opposition  or  suffering 
we  may  meet  with  in  so  doing;  by  unfeigned  grief 
and  sorrow  of  heart  when  he  is  offended  or  dishonour- 
ed by  ourselves  or  others;  by  walking  humbly  before 
him,  under  a  deep  and  daily  sense  of  our  sins,  infir- 
mities, and  short  comings  in  duty;  by  doingall  in  our 
power  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  him,  in  the  gospel 
of  his  Son,  to  the  heathen,  and  to  all  who  are  desti- 
tute of  that  knowledge,  so  that  others  may  be  brought 
to  love,  honour,  and  obey  him,  till  the  earth  be  filled 
with  his  declarative  glory.  In  fine,  in  all  that  we  do, 
we  should  regard  the  glory  of  God  as  our  highest  aim 
and  object.  The  apostolic  injunction  to  this  effect  is 
explicit;  "Whether  therefore  ye  eat,  or  drink,  or 
whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God." 

Thus  you  perceive,  my  young  friends,  that  this 
command  of  God  is  "exceeding  broad,"  as  well  as 


48  LECTURESONTHE 

spiritual  in  its  nature  and  demands.  The  right  per- 
formance of  the  duties  which  it  requires,  will  call  for 
the  exercise  of  much  grace.  Seek  it,  therefore,  earn- 
estly of  God.  "  He  giveth  his  Holy  Spirit  to  them 
that  ask  him."  Let  not  the  difficulty  of  keeping  this, 
or  any  of  the  commands  of  God,  be  pleaded  as  an  ex- 
cuse for  sloth  or  neglect.  Mourn  over  your  short 
comings,  and  flee  to  the  blood  of  cleansing  for  all 
your  transgressions  and  imperfections.  But  make 
no  abatement  in  your  aims  or  efforts;  for  through 
Christ  strengthening  us,  we  can  do  all  that  he  re- 
quires.    Amen. 


SHOETEE     CATECHISM.  49 


LECTURE  XXXVIII. 


We  are  now  to  consider  what  is  forbidden  in  the  first 
commandment.  "The  first  commandment  (says  our 
Catechism)  forbiddeth  the  denying,  or  not  worship- 
ping and  glorifying  the  true  God,  as  God,  and  our 
God,  and  the  giving  that  worship  and  glory  to  any 
other  which  is  due  to  him  alone." 

It  will  readily  be  perceived  by  all  who  carefully 
attend  to  this  answer,  that  it  consists  of  two  parts: 
First;  it  affirms  that  this  commandment  forbids  a  de- 
nial of  the  being,  or  a  refusal  of  the  suitable  worship, 
of  the  true  God.  Secondly;  that  it  also  forbids  the 
giving  of  that  worship  and  glory  to  any  being,  or  ob- 
ject, which  is  due  to  the  true  God  alone.  The  sub- 
ject matter  of  these  prohibitions  may  be  expressed  in 
two  words.  Atheism  and  Idolatry.  Let  us  briefly 
consider  each  of  these;  keeping  in  mind  that  our  prin- 
cipal object  here  is,  to  show  in  what  these  sins  con- 
sist, or  the  various  kinds  or  instances  of  them.  The 
guilt  incurred  by  the  commission  of  these  sins,  will 
be  more  particularly  considered  in  discussing  the  next 
answer. 

I.  The  first  commandment  forbids  Atheism.  This 
term  is  derived  from  two  Greek  words  (a  9eos),  the 
meaning  of  which  is,  without  God,  that  is,  without 
the  true  God.  An  atheist,  therefore,  is  one  who  de- 
nies, or  refuses  to  acknowledge  and  worship,  the  true 
God.  This  description  will  embrace  a  considerable 
variety  of  character,  which  we  shall  endeavour  briefly 
to  exhibit  and  illustrate. 

Atheists  are  commonly  and  justly,  divided  into  two 
great  classes — speculative  and  practical.  Speculative 
atheists  are  of  various  kinds — 

1.  Those  who  explicitly  and  understandingly  deny 
an  intelligent  Jirst  cause  of  all  things;  and  pro- 


50 


LECTURES     ON    THE 


fess  to  believe  tliat  the  material  universe,  as  we  now 
behold  it,  is  eternal ;  or  that  matter  is  eternal,  and  as- 
sumed its  present  form  by  chance,  or  by  a  fortuitous 
concourse  of  atoms,  or  by  something  which  they  call 
fate;  or  else  that  it  is  self  created;  and  that  all  sen- 
tient beings,  as  they  now  exist,  have  either  existed 
eternally,  or  are  self  created,  or  that  they  came  into 
being  by  certain  operations  or  combinations  of  matter, 
which  they  suppose  is  endued  with  something  which 
they  call  a  plastic  nature.  These  are  the  opinions 
which  are  denominated  pure  atheism.  And  they  are 
so  ineffably  absurd  and  difficult  to  believe,  and  the 
indications  of  consummate  wisdom,  design  and  con- 
trivance, are  so  strikingly  visible  in  all  that  we  be- 
hold, and  the  impression  on  the  human  mind  of  some 
great  and  intelligent  first  cause,  is  so  early  and  gene- 
ral, and  powerful,  that  many  have  very  seriously  ques- 
tioned, whether  there  ever  was  a  speculative  atheist, 
of  the  kind  or  character  which  we  here  consider.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  the  avowal  of  the  monstrous 
notions  we  have  mentioned,  has  proceeded  from  affec- 
tation of  singularity  at  first,  and  has  afterwards  been 
persisted  in  from  pride  and  obstinacy,  while  there  has 
been  no  real  conviction  of  the  understanding  at  all — 
no  deliberate  and  settled  belief,  of  what  is  so  abhor- 
rent to  all  reason  and  common  sense.  It  has  indeed 
been  long  my  opinion,  that  atheists,  of  the  kind  we 
now  have  in  view,  ought  to  be  regarded  as  men  par- 
tially insa7ie — not,  by  any  means,  innocently  so,  but 
:  who  have  become  so  by  a  wicked  and  voluntary  per- 
version of  their  intellectual  powers,  and  by  being,  in 
the  just  judgment  of  God,  "  given  over  to  strong  de- 
lusions to  believe  a  lie."  In  many  instances,  they 
have  shown  that  reason  and  conscience  have  occa- 
sionally burst  upon  them,  in  spite  of  themselves,  and 
made  them  tremble  under  the  apprehension  of  a  God, 
and  of  a  judgment  to  come.  Yet  I  am  not  prepared 
to  say  that  there  have  not  been  other  instances  of  per- 
fect atheistic  hardness  and  insensibility,  which  nothing 
could  move.  There  certainly  have  been  martyrs  to 
speculative  atheism.     A  man  by  the  name  of  Vanini, 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  51 

was  burned  to  death  for  atheism,  at  Toulouse  in 
France,  in  1629;  and  to  the  last  nrioment  he  obsti- 
nately adhered  to  the  profession  of  his  unbelief — 
several  other  instances  of  a  similar  kind  might  be 
mentioned.  The  world,  I  think,  had  never  before 
witnessed  such  an  open  and  general  avowal  of  specu- 
lative atheism,  as  was  seen  in  France,  during  the  late 
revolution  in  that  country:  and  it  may  deserve  a  pass- 
ing notice,  that  a  favourite  dogma  of  some  infidel 
writers,  namely,  that  atheism  is  more  tolerant  than 
Christianity,  received  a  most  practical  and  awful  refu- 
tation, at  the  time  when  this  avowal  of  atheism  took 
place.  No  tolerance  was  allowed,  either  to  religious 
or  political  opinions,  when  they  differed  from  those 
of  the  party  who  held  a  temporary  sway.  Never  did 
human  blood,  not  shed  in  battle,  flow  so  freely;  never 
was  human  life  held  so  cheap.  The  friends  of  reli- 
gion were  first  proscribed  and  murdered  in  crowds, 
and  without  distinction  or  mercy.  Then  each  ruling 
faction,  while  it  held  the  ascendant,  sent  its  rivals  to 
the  fatal  guillotine,  till  all  who  remained  in  life  be- 
came at  length  horror  smitten,  by  perceiving  the  situ- 
ation into  which  their  atheistical  and  sanguinary  sys- 
tem had  brought  them.  Surely  this  was  permitted 
by  a  righteous  God,  to  show  that  when  men  deny  his 
existence,  their  oiv?i  will  speedily  become  a  curse — to 
themselves  and  to  all  around  them. 

2.  There  is  a  species  of  atheism  which,  from  its 
most  distinguished  advocate  Spinoza,  a  learned  Jew 
of  the  17th  century,  resident  in  Amsterdam,  has  been 
called  Spiiwzism.  Those  who  embrace  this  system 
have  been  called  Pantheists,  because  they  profess  to 
believe  that  the  Universe  is  God,  or  that  every  thing 
in  existence  is  a  part  of  God.  This  however  was  in 
fact,  with  some  unimportant  modifications,  the  system 
of  many  of  the  ancient  philosophers.  Probably,  also, 
it  was  the  real  system  of  Confucius,  the  celebrated 
sage  of  China;  and  it  is  at  this  day  the  avowed  sys- 
tem of  the  Soofees,  the  philosphers  of  Persia. 

3.  There  is  much  of  what  is  called  interpretative 


52  LECTURES      ON     THE 

atheism;  that  is,  either  an  utter  ignorance  of  the  true 
God,  or  sentiments  which  imply  a  denial  of  some  of 
his  essential  attributes  and  plain  manifestations.  The 
apostle  Paul,  referring  to  the  state  of  the  Ephesians, 
while  they  were  ignorant  of  the  gospel  and  in  a  state 
of  idolatry,  says,  they  were  {aOsoo  sv  t(^  xoai^a)  athe- 
ists in  the  world.  Thus  the  voice  of  inspiration  de- 
clares idolatry  and  ignorance  of  the  true  God,  to  be 
virtually  atheism;  and  this  description  will  compre- 
hend all  the  pagans,  both  of  ancient  and  modern  times. 
It  will  also  comprehend  all  those  who  live  under  the 
light  of  the  gospel — and  the  number  is  lamentably 
great — who  are  really  as  destitute  of  all  just  ideas  of 
God  as  the  heathen  themselves.  Further:  Since  it  is 
impossible  to  have  any  just  conceptions  of  the  Divine 
Being,  without  believing  that  he  governs  the  world, 
those  who  deny  his  providence  are  justly  chargeable 
with  atheism;  and  those  who  do  not  conceive  of  him 
as  just  and  holy,  as  well  as  good  and  merciful,  must 
take  part  in  the  same  charge;  and  they  who  use  blas- 
phemous language,  and  make  blasphemous  charges 
against,  or  appeals  to  God,  are  deeply  implicated. 
Dr.  Clark,  moreover,  in  his  "  Evidences  of  Natural 
and  Revealed  Religion,"  maintains  that  the  sentiments 
of  our  modern  deists  and  sceptics,  must  of  necessity, 
if  pushed  to  their  proper  consequences,  terminate  in 
downright  atheism;  and  Bishop  Butler  has  shown, 
most  conclusively,  in  his  "  Analogy,"  that  the  chief 
objections  which  are  urged  by  infidels  against  the  gos- 
pel, stand  in  all  their  force  against  the  course  of  na- 
ture ;  that  is,  against  the  works  and  order  of  God  in 
creation  and  providence.  Thus  it  appears  that  the 
class  of  interpretative  or  virtual  atheists,  is  exceed- 
ingly large  and  comprehensive. 

But  the  class  of  practical  atheists  is  still  much 
larger.  It  comprehends  all  those  "  who  live  without 
God  in  the  world,"  be  the  profession  of  their  belief 
what  it  may.  The  apostle  Paul  speaks  of  those  "  who 
profess  that  they  know  God,  but  in  works  they  deny 
him:"  and  the  Psalmist  declares,  "the  fool  hath  said 


SHORTER      CATECHISM. 


53 


in  his  heart*  no  God;"  that  is,  I  wish  there  were 
none. 

Let  me  for  a  moment  point  your  attention  to  seve- 
ral descriptions  of  character,  chargeable  with  practi- 
cal atheism,  according  to  the  answer  of  the  Catechism 
now  under  consideration. 

1.  Those  are  to  be  considered  as  refusing  by  their 
practice  to  acknowledge  God,  who  do  not  seek  direc- 
tion and  assistance  from  him  in  the  important  con- 
cerns of  life;  who  form  connexions  of  the  most  lasting 
kind,  and  enter  on  enterprises  and  undertakings 
which  are  to  have  a  decisive  influence  on  the  whole 
of  their  earthly  existence,  and  perhaps  on  their  eter- 
nal well  being  also,  without  ever  asking  counsel  of 
God,  seeking  to  know  their  duty  from  his  word,  ob- 
serving the  indications  of  his  providence,  acknow- 
ledging his  hand  in  what  befalls  them,  or  looking  to 
him  for  success,  or  a  happy  issue,  as  that  which  he 
alone  can  grant.  In  all  these  interesting  concerns 
and  circumstances,  "  God  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts." 

2.  Those  are  plainly  guilty  of  not  worshipping 
God,  who  live  in  the  habitual  neglect  of  all,  or  any 
of  those  exercises  of  prayer — ejaculatory,  secret,  so- 
cial and  public — which  were  particularly  specified  in 
my  last  lecture.  0  that  men  would  reflect  on  the 
practical  atheismof"  restraining  prayer"  before  God! 

3.  Men  are  chargeable  with  the  guilt  of  practically 
refusing  to  glorify  God,  when  they  pursue  their  own 
honour,  pleasure  and  happiness,  in  any  way  forbid- 
den by  God;  when  they  perform  actions,  either  civil 
or  religious,  from  a  regard  merely  to  their  own  repu- 
tation or  aggrandizement,  without  any  reference  to 
the  glory  of  God,  or  regard  to  his  laws;  when  they 
ascribe  the  glory  of  what  they  possess  or  do,  or  the 
station  and  power  to  which  they  are  elevated,  to  their 
own  wisdom,  sagacity,  or  prowess,  and  not  to  the 
providence   and   blessing   of   God;    when    they   are 

*  The  words  there  is  are  added  by  our  translators.  It  is  plainly  a 
wish,  or  a  feeling,  and  not  a  deliberate  opinion,  which  the  inspired 
writer  charges  on  the  fool. 


54 


LECTURES      ON      THE 


grieved  for  what  disgraces  themselves,  without  any, 
or  little  concern,  for  the  dishonour  done  to  God;  and 
when  they  prefer  the  profits  and  honours  of  this 
world,  to  the  favour  and  enjoyment  of  God,  as  their 
chief  or  highest  good.  In  all  this,  there  is  undoubtedly 
a  degree,  and  in  many  instances  a  high  degree,  of 
practical  atheism.  The  punishments  inflicted  on  Ne- 
buchadnezzar and  Belshazzar,  are  memorable  in- 
stances of  the  displeasure  of  God,  manifested  against 
the  sins  here  described. 

4.  We  may  be  said  not  to  worship  the  true  God, 
"as  God,  and  our  God,"  when  we  draw  nigh  unto 
him  with  the  mouth  and  honour  him  with  our  lips, 
while  our  hearts  are  far  from  him;  and  when  we  fail 
in  our  Christian  profession,  and  in  our  addresses  to 
his  throne,  to  recognize,  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  our 
covenant  relation  to  him,  and  his  to  us. 

In  all  these  ways,  my  dear  youth,  the  guilt  of 
practical  atheism  may  be  incurred:  and  I  must  not 
dismiss  the  subject  without  remarking  that  a  measure 
of  this  sin  is  too  often  found  cleaving  to  the  people  of 
God  themselves.  Being  sanctified  but  in  part,  the 
atheism  of  their  natural  state,  like  other  evil  princi- 
ples and  propensities,  sometimes  finds  an  unhappy, 
although  it  be  but  a  temporary  indulgence.  Holy  Job 
appears  to  have  been  justly  reproved  by  Elihu,  for 
charging  God  with  injustice.  Job  xxxiii.  10,  11;  and 
a  more  rash  and  wicked  speech  can  scarcely  be  ima- 
gined, than  that  of  the  prophet  Jonah,  when  he  said, 
in  reply  to  his  Maker,  »' I  do  well  to  be  angry,  even 
unto  death." 

As  for  those  blasphemous  thoughts  or  imaginations, 
of  which  some  of  the  most  pious  men  who  have  ever 
lived  have  most  grievously  complained,  and  which 
are  often  thrown  into  the  mind,  not  only  without  its 
voluntary  choice,  but  to  its  utter  and  instant  abhor- 
rence and  amazement,  they  are  indeed  a  great  afliic- 
tion,  but  while  not  indulged  or  approved,  they  are 
without  guilt  in  the  suff'ering  party.  Temptation, 
while  resisted,  is  not  sin.  "  The  Holy  One  of  God," 
our  Saviour  himself,  was  tempted  to  the  awful  bias- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  55 

phemy  of  worshipping  Satan;  and  what  he  endured 
in  his  agony,  when  the  "powers  of  darkness"  were 
let  loose  upon  him,  must  have  been  distressing  be- 
yond all  our  conceptions.  He  was  "  tempted  in  all 
points  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin."  He  is  "touched 
with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,"  and  to  him  should 
be  the  special  appeal  and  address  of  his  afflicted  peo- 
ple, under  the  temptations  here  contemplated. 

H.  Idolatry,  as  well  as  Atheism,  is  prohibited  in 
the  first  commandment,  according  to  that  part  of  the 
answer  before  us,  which  says,  that  this  precept  "  for- 
bids the  giving  that  worship  and  glory  to  any  other 
which  is  due  to  God  alone."  We  have  already,  in- 
deed, shown  that  idolatry  is  interpretative  atheism, 
by  the  decision  of  the  apostle  Paul,  who  affirms  that 
the  Ephesians,  the  noted  and  zealous  worshippers  of 
the  heathen  goddess  Diana,  "  were  atheists  in  the 
world,"  till  their  conversion  to  Christianity. 

We  may  give  a  definition  of  idolatry  in  the  very 
words  of  divine  inspiration — It  is,  "to  worship  and 
serve  the  creature  more  [or  rather*]  than  the  Crea- 
tor." It  is  of  two  kinds,  gross  or  palpable,  and 
oriental  or  secret. 

I.  Gross  or  palpable  idolatry  is  the  rendering  of 
open  and  avowed  worship,  or  religious  homage,  to 
some  creature.  This  was,  and  is,  the  great  and  lead- 
ing sin  of  the  heathen  world.  It  began  very  early. 
Some  writers  of  character  are  of  the  opinion  that  it 
existed  before  the  flood;  and  that  this  is  intimated  in 
the  passage  (Gen.  vi.  2.)  which  speaks  of  the  sons  of 
God  contracting  marriages  with  the  daughters  of  men. 
However  this  might  be,  we  learn  from  the  distinct 
statement  of  Holy  Scripture,  that  shortly  after  the 
general  deluge,  idolatry  was  so  prevalent  that  the 
family  of  Abraham  were  worshippers  of  idols  in 
Chaldea,  till  he  was  called  to  remove  out  of  that 
country.  The  great  design  of  God  in  the  calling  of 
Abraham  doubtless  was,  to  preserve  in  the  world  the 

*  Rather,  is  in  this  place  the  marginal  and  correct  translation  of 
the  original  word  Tra^n, 


56  LECTURES     ON      THE 

knowledge  of  the  true  God.  Yet  his  posterity  mani- 
fested a  proneness  to  idolatry  that  seems  astonishing. 
Their  making  and  worshipping  a  golden  calf,  in  imi- 
tation of  the  Egyptians,  even  when  the  thunderings 
and  lightnings  of  Sinai  were  before  their  eyes,  was  a 
memorable  instance  of  this  propensity:  And  although 
it  does  not  appear  that  they  ever  had  idols  of  their 
own  invention,  yet  when  settled  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, they,  first  or  last,  adopted  almost  all  the  idols 
of  the  neighbouring  countries.  It  was,  as  already 
remarked,  their  captivity  in  Babylon,  that  eventually 
cured  them  of  this  propensity. 

In  every  other  nation  of  antiquity,  except  the  He- 
brew, the  grossest  idolatry  was  practised,  and  that 
continually.  It  was  so  far  from  being  prevented  or 
diminished  by  human  learning  or  philosophy,  that  it 
is  a  notorious  fact,  that  the  nations  most  distinguished 
for  science  and  the  arts,  were  also  the  most  remarka- 
ble for  their  abominable  and  multifarious  polytheism. 
The  Greeks  had  about  thirty  thousand  gods. — Jupi- 
ter was  reckoned  the  chief,  and  then  followed  a  rab- 
ble of  gods  and  goddesses,  each  presiding  over,  or 
particularly  attached  to,  some  nation,  some  season  of 
the  year,  some  of  the  elements,  or  some  art  or  occu- 
pation. These  imaginary  deities  were  represented 
as  having  husbands  and  wives,  as  possessing  oppo- 
site interests,  as  often  engaged  in  jealousies,  alterca- 
tions and  quarrels,  and  as  indulging  in  some  of  the 
worst  and  basest  vices,  ever  seen  among  mankind. 

It  appears  that  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars,  were  the  first  objects  of  idolatrous  wor- 
ship; then  demons  or  Genii,  who  were  considered  as 
inferior  deities;  then  the  departed  spirits  of  kings, 
heroes,  lawgivers,  philosophers  and  public  benefac- 
tors; and  eventually,  almost  every  object  of  the  ani- 
mate and  inanimate  creation — rivers,  groves,  beasts, 
birds,  fishes,  reptiles,  and  vices  of  the  most  loathsome 
kind.  Indeed  the  rites  of  pagan  idolatry,  both  in  an- 
cient and  modern  times,  have  always  been  connected 
with  the  most  revolting  impurity,  and  the  most  ap- 
palling cruelty.     Human  sacrifices,  especially  on  oc- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  57 

casions  of  great  emergency,  have  often  been,  and  in 
some  places  still  are,  offered  to  the  pretended  deities 
of  the  heathen.  You  can  never  exceed  in  your  grat- 
itude to  God,  my  dear  youth,  that  he  has  given  you 
existence  at  a  time,  and  in  a  land,  in  which  the  light 
of  divine  revelation  has  so  completely  banished  this 
gross  idolatry,  that  it  seems  wonderful  to  us  that  it 
ever  could  have  existed:  and  truly  I  know  of  no- 
thing that  exhibits  human  nature  in  a  light  more  de- 
grading, and  demonstrates  the  blinding  and  besotting 
nature  of  sin  more  forcibly,  than  that  rational  beings 
should  offer  religious  worship  to  some  of  the  most 
detestable  objects  that  can  be  conceived  of;  and  with 
many  rites  which  decency  will  not  permit  us  so  much 
as  to  name.  Read  attentively  the  whole  passage,  in 
the  first  chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  from 
which  1  have  quoted  a  definition  of  idolatry ;  and  you 
will  find  the  cause  of  it  assigned  by  the  pen  of  inspira- 
tion, and  a  summary  description  given  of  its  shock- 
itig  character  and  prevalence. 

Before  we  leave  the  topic  of  gross  and  palpable 
idolatry,  it  is  with  pain  that  I  feel  myself  constrained 
to  say,  that  a  species  of  it  exists  in  the  Romish  and 
Greek  churches.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  many  of  the 
objects  worshipped  are  entirely  different  from  those 
of  the  heathen;  although  the  religious  regard  shown 
to  relics,  crucifixes,  the  pretended  wood  of  the  cross, 
and  places  deemed  sacred,  are  much  like  some  of  the 
pagan  superstitions.  Neither  is  it  clear  that  many  of 
those  who  have  been  canonized  and  worshipped  as 
saints,  were  worthy  of  the  appellation,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  religious  homage  they  have  received.  But 
although  the  angels,  the  mother  of  our  blessed  Lord, 
the  holy  apostles,  and  many  later  saints,  are  highly 
worthy  of  our  love  and  veneration,  none  of  them  are 
proper  objects  of  any  kind  or  degree  of  religious 
worship;  and  could  they  address  those  who  offer  it, 
they  would  doubtless  reject  it  with  abhorrence.  You 
will  recollect,  that  when  the  apostle  John  "  fell  down 
to  worship,  before  the  feet  of  the  angel,"  that  show- 
ed him  the  things  of  which  we  have  an  account  in 

VOL.  II. — 5 


58  LECTURES     ON    THE 

the  last  chapter  of  the  book  of  Revelations,  the  angel 
said,  "  See  thou  do  it  not:  for  I  am  thy  fellow  ser- 
vant, and  of  thy  brethren  the  prophets,  and  of  them 
which  keep  the  sayings  of  this  book:  worship  God." 
In  like  manner,  when  religious  homage  was  offered 
to  Paul  and  Barnabas  at  Iconinm  (Acts  xiv.  8 — 18,) 
they  "  rent  their  clothes,"  in  token  of  their  utter  ab- 
horrence of  what  was  intended;  and  in  their  address 
to  the  people,  they  expressly  place  all  such  acts  on 
the  same  footing  with  "those  vanities,"  those  offer- 
ings to  heathen  deities,  which  this  idolatrous  people 
were  accustomed  to  make. 

I  am  perfectly  aware  of  the  difference  which  the 
Papists  make,  between  what  they  denominate  doidia 
and  latria — that  it  is  the  former  only,  {cloulia,)  that 
they  offer  to  angels,  to  the  mother  of  our  Lord,  and  to 
other  saints;  implying  no  more  than  a  grateful  vene- 
ration of  their  virtues,  and  petitions  to  them  to  be  in- 
tercessors with  God  and  Christ,  in  behalf  of  the  peti- 
tioners; and  that  the  latter  {latria)  is  the  worship 
which  they  offer  immediately  to  God  and  Christ,  as 
alone  able  to  forgive  sin,  and  to  confer  all  the  bene- 
fits of  redemption.  For  this  distinction  I  cannot  admit 
that  there  is  any  sufficient  warrant  or  reason;  but 
taking  it  exactly  as  they  make  it,  I  remark,  that  by 
addressing  prayers  to  angels  and  saints,  at  all  limes, 
and  in  many  places  of  the  world  at  the  same  time, 
they  plainly  invest  them  with  the  divine  attributes  of 
omnipresence  and  omniscience;  which  is  idolatry  in 
the  strictest  sense  of  the  word.  It  is  attributing  to 
creatures,  what  belongs  to  God  alone.  Considering, 
moreover,  that  these  prayers,  addressed  to  saints  and 
angels,  are  unspeakably  more  numerous  than  those 
offered  to  Jehovah,  they  bring  those  who  offer  them 
strictly  within  the  apostle's  definition  of  idolatry, 
"  they  worship  and  serve  the  creature  more  than  the 
Creator,''^ — more  in  frequency,  and  really  more  as  a 
matter  of  importance. 

The  sin  of  worshipping  God  by  images,  will  come 
to  be  considered  at  length,  in  attending  to  the  prohibi- 
tions of  the  second  commandment.     But  as  it  is  a 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  59 

breach  of  the  first,  to  give  divine  honour  to  any  thing 
that  is  not  God,  and  as  it  is  notorious  that  such  honour 
is  attributed,  in  the  Romish  church,  to  the  images  and 
pictures  of  saints  and  angels,  and  to  the  impious  paint- 
ings, in  which  attempts  have  been  made  to  represent 
the  persons  of  the  adorable  Trinity,  it  is  clear  that 
there  is  a  violation  of  both  these  commandments  at 
once,  in  the  instances  to  which  I  have  referred. 

2.  Merited  or  secret  idolatry,  is  practised  without 
hesitation  or  remorse,  by  multitudes  who  would  re- 
ceive with  horror  or  contempt,  a  proposal  to  fall  down 
and  worship  stocks  and  stones.  This  mental  or  secret 
idolatry,  consists  in  giving  to  any  creature  object  that 
place  in  our  hearts  or  affections,  which  of  right  be- 
longs to  God  alone.  Him  we  are  required  to  love 
supremely — with  all  our  heart,  and  soul,  and  strength, 
and  mind  ;  and  when  we  refuse  to  do  this,  but  love 
and  serve  something  else  more  than  God,  we  are,  in 
his  sight,  as  really  chargeable  with  the  sin  of  idolatry, 
as  if  we  had  made  and  worshipped  a  graven  image. 
The  apostle  Paul  expressly  declares  that  "  covetous- 
ness  is  idolatry,"  and  of  course  every  other  aflection 
or  passion  which  is  exercised  with  equal  strength  on 
a  created  object,  must  possess  the  same  character. 
To  attempt,  therefore,  to  specify  in  detail  all  the  ways 
in  which  the  sin  of  mental  or  secret  idolatry  may  be 
conuTiitled,  would  be  nothing  less  than  to  endeavour 
to  enumerate  all  the  preferences  of  creatures  to  the 
Creator,  which  may  take  place  in  the  minds  of  differ- 
ent individuals,  in  all  that  diversity  of  disposition, 
character  and  pursuit,  which  is  found  in  the  human 
family.  The  impracticability  of  this  is  obvious  :  and 
yet,  as  general  representations  make  but  little  impres- 
sion, and  the  subject  before  us  is  highly  important 
and  practical,  I  shall  very  briefly  point  your  attention 
to  several  examples  of  idolatry,  of  the  kind  indicated 
by  this  part  of  our  subject. 

(1.)  Avarice,  as  we  have  seen,  has  been  declared 
to  be  idolatry,  by  the  voice  of  inspiration.  "  The 
mammon  of  unrighteousness,"  is  the  god  that  thou- 
sands, even  in  a  Christian  land,  constantly  and  de- 


60  LECTURES    ON    THE 

votedly  worship.  Its  devotees  often  sacrifice  to  it 
every  sentiment,  both  of  piety  and  humanity.  To  ac- 
cumulate wealth,  justice  is  disregarded,  the  poor  and 
the  helpless  are  treated  with  cruelty,  and  in  some 
cases,  not  only  their  families,  but  their  own  persons, 
are  subjected  to  pinching  want  and  privation,  by  the 
wretched  penuriousness  of  those  whose  god  is  gain. 
But  in  cases  innumerable,  where  no  such  extreme  is 
reached,  nay,  among  those  who  have  a  standing,  and 
are  even  office  bearers  in  the  church  of  Christ,  there 
is  an  attachment  to  weaUh,  a  value  set  upon  it,  and  a 
manner  of  spending  it,  which  is  truly  idolatrous.  It 
is  not  consecrated  to  God,  but  hoarded,  and  loved, 
and  used,  not  to  promote  the  divine  glory,  the  cause 
of  Christ,  and  the  good  of  mankind,  but  to  serve 
merely  the  selfish  purposes  of  its  owner,  or  of  his  im- 
mediate family  or  dependants — to  cherish  luxury  or 
worldly-mindedness,  and  to  subserve  personal  aggran- 
dizement and  vain  distinctions. 

j      (2.)  The  love  of  fame  is  the  idol  of  others.     It  is 

i  so  especially  of  men  of  science  and  learning,  of  states- 

;  men,  legislators,  philosophers,  orators,  poets,  histo- 

;  rians,  and  writers  of  all  descriptions,  and  perhaps  of 

I  no  class  of  men  so  much,  as  of  those  who  belong  to 

the  military  profession.     They  often  make  no  scruple 

to  avow  that  fame,  or  character,  and  high  reputation, 

in  the  various  pursuits  to  which  they  have  addicted 

themselves,  is  their  idol — the  supreme  object  of  their 

regard,  to  which  they  determine  that  every  thing  else 

shall  be  subordinate,  and  to  which,  if  it  be  necessary, 

they  are  ready  to  sacrifice  life  itself. 

3.  The  love  of  pleasure — sensual  pleasure — is  the 
idol  of  others.  They  are  "lovers  of  pleasures,  more 
than  lovers  of  God."  This,  my  young  friends,  is  the 
kind  of  idolatry  by  which  persons  at  your  period  of 
life  are  most  apt  to  be  seduced  into  sin.  Young  per- 
sons are  especially  prone  to  forget  God,  neglect  and 
contemn  his  worship,  and  violate  his  laws,  through  the 
solicitations  of  "  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  the  lusts  of  the 
eye,  and  the  pride  of  life."  For  what  are  esteemed 
youthful  pleasures,  or  that  which  is  denominated, 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  01 

although  most  preposterously,  a  life  of  pleasure, 
thousands  in  the  morning  of  their  days,  renounce  all 
allegiance  to  the  God  who  made  them,  and  give  them- 
selves up,  in  one  form  or  another,  to  licentious  indul- 
gence. Through  every  gradation  of  vicious  propen- 
sity, from  an  attachment  to  routes  and  dances,  noctur- 
nal parties  and  days  of  dissipation,  to  the  grosser 
abominations  of  the  theatre,  the  brothel,  the  gambling 
house,  and  the  resort  of  the  glutton  and  the  drunkard, 
the  idolaters  of  unhallowed  pleasure  are  found.  As 
you  value  the  salvation  of  your  souls  then,  0  be  deaf 
to  the  syren  song  of  sinful  pleasure! — for  in  the  end 
"it  stingeth  like  a  serpent  and  biteth  like  an  adder." 

(4.)  The  opinion  of  the  world  is  often  idolized.  It 
is  not  possible  to  specify  all  the  methods,  or  ways,  in 
which  men  are  influenced  by  a  desire  to  "  receive  ho- 
nour one  of  another,  and  seek  not  the  honour  that 
Cometh  from  God  only."  It  is  an  idolatry  of  human 
opinion  that  leads  multitudes,  even  of  those  who  pay 
some  regard  to  religion,  into  an  unlawful  conformity 
to  the  world,  in  its  customs,  fashions,  maxims  and 
opinions.  They  want  resolution  to  take  the  word  of 
God  simply,  as  the  standard  of  opinion  and  action — 
to  come  out  from  the  world  and  be  separate,  and 
touch  not  the  unclean  thing.  2  Cor.  vi.  17.  Other 
multitudes  there  are,  who  really  are  guided  by  scarce- 
ly any  thing  else  in  the  sentiments  they  adopt,  and 
the  whole  course  of  life  and  conduct  they  pursue, 
than  a  regard  to  their  worldly  reputation.  What  will 
injure  their  estimation  in  society  they  desire  to  avoid, 
and  what  will  promote  that  estimation,  they  are  most 
of  all  anxious  to  achieve.  Human  opinion,  and  not 
the  law  of  God,  is  their  rule,  or  standard,  by  which 
they  judge  and  act — the  idol  that  they  worship. 

(5.)  Kindred,  relatives,  or  friends,  are  often  idolized. 
"  He  (said  the  Saviour)  that  loveth  father  or  mother 
more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me,  and  he  that  loveth 
son  or  daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me." 
In  the  early  periods  of  the  Christian  church,  and  in 
some  other  periods  since,  no  alternative  has  remained, 
but  either  to   renounce  Christ,  or   to  renounce  the 


62  LECTURES     ON     THE 

friendship  of  the  clearest  earthly  connexions,  and  even 
submit  to  be  formally  and  for  ever  excluded  from  their 
presence  and  favour.  Cases  like  this  sometimes  still 
occur,  and  whenever  they  do,  he  is  an  idolater  who 
prefers  a  creature,  however  dear,  to  the  Creator.  But 
in  instances  innumerable,  where  no  entire  renuncia- 
tion of  the  beloved  object  is  required;  nay,  where  a 
well  regulated  affection  is  an  absolute  duty,  this  idol- 
atry is  often  practised — between  husbands  and  wives, 
parents  and  children,  brothers  and  sisters,  and  friends 
who  are  bound  to  each  other,  not  by  nature's  ties,  but 
by  those  of  affection  only.  How  often  has  the  death 
of  one,  in  some  of  these  relations,  made  a  survivor 
feel,  and  sometimes  expressly  say,  that  he  has  lost  cm 
idol.  Nor  can  I  forbear  to  point  your  attention  in 
particular,  my  young  friends,  to  that  flattering  and 
impassioned  language  which  you  will  sometimes 
hear,  and  perhaps  find  used  by  popular  writers,  in 
the  addresses  made  by  the  one  sex  to  the  other,  in 
which  idolatry  and  adoration  is  explicitly  avowed. 
Language  of  this  kind  is  the  more  detestable,  because 
it  is  commonly  as  hypocritical  as  it  is  impious.  Let 
religious  principle  unite  with  a  sense  of  propriety  and 
the  principles  of  good  taste,  to  cherish  in  your  minds 
an  utter  abhorrence  of  addressing  others,  or  being  ad- 
dressed yourselves,  in  a  manner  so  manifestly  unsuit- 
ed  to  those,  who,  however  lovely,  should  still  remem- 
ber that  they  are  but  creatures  of  a  day,  who  are 
soon  to  return  to  the  dust  from  which  they  were 
taken. 

Thus  have  I  pointed  out,  in  a  few  particulars,  some 
of  the  most  usual  forms,  or  instances,  of  secret  or  men- 
tal idolatry.  But  you  must  be  careful  to  remember, 
that  the  particulars  mentioned  are  no  more  than  ex- 
amples, which  should  lead  you  to  consider  the  sub- 
ject for  yourselves,  and  to  watch  your  own  hearts, 
that  no  creature  objects  usurp  in  them,  the  place  that 
of  right  belongs  to  God.  The  objects  and  pursuits  may 
be  innumerable,  but  the  sin  is  the  same.  Remember 
also,  that  it  is  a  sin  which  reigns  unsubdued  in  every 
unrenewed  mind.     The  very  essence  of  human  de- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM. 


63 


pravity,  consists  in  a  heart  alienated  from  God,  and 
given  wholly  to  other  objects.  This  awful  bias  of  our 
corrupt  nature  must  be  changed,  and  God  be  en- 
throned in  the  heart,  before  we  can  ever  serve  him 
acceptably.  But  even  in  the  people  of  God  them- 
selves, there  is  a  constant  proneness  to  idolatry ; 
against  which  they  have  need  to  watch  and  pray 
without  ceasing. 

Let  us  now,  very  briefly,  consider  the  next  answer 
in  the  Catechism,  which  is,  that  "  these  words,  be- 
fore ME,  in  the  first  commandment,  teach  us,  that 
God,  who  seeth  all  things,  taketh  notice  of,  and  is 
much  displeased  with  the  sin,  of  having  any  other 
God." 

Omnipresence  and  omniscience  are  essential  attri- 
butes of  the  Deity,  and  are  necessarily  connected  with 
each  other.  As  God  is  present  in  every  place — most 
intimately  present — so  that  "  in  Him  we  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being,"  and  could  not  subsist  for 
a  moment,  if  he  should  withdraw  his  support,  it  fol- 
lows of  course,  "that  he  seeth  all  things,"  There  is 
not  an  action  of  our  lives,  or  a  word  of  our  lips,  or  a 
thought  of  our  hearts,  "but  lo!  he  knoweth  it  alto- 
gether;" it  is  more  perfectly  known  to  him  than  it  is 
to  ourselves.  Now,  as  he  is  thus  the  present  and  im- 
mediate witness  of  every  thing  we  either  do  or  think, 
so  we  must  believe  that  in  an  especial  manner,  "he 
taketh  notice  of"  what  isdirectly  derogatory  to  himself. 
But  "the  sin  of  havingany  other  God, "is  directly  dero- 
gatory to  himself.  It  is  a  denial  of  his  worthiness  to  be 
the  supreme  object  of  our  affections;  it  is  robbing  him 
of  what  is  his  due,  and  giving  it  to  one  of  his  crea- 
tures as  a  rival;  and  it  is  this  high  affront  and  insult 
offered,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  to  his  very  face.  It  is 
always  considered  as  marking  the  last  stage  of  impu- 
dent profligacy,  even  among  men,  when  one  of  infe- 
rior station  and  bad  character,  will  do  wickedly  in  the 
very  presence  and  under  the  known  observation  of  a 
superior  of  elevated  rank,  and  of  distinguished  virtue 
and  goodness.  And  if  the  wickedness  consists  in  a 
direct  affront  or  insult  to  the  observing  superior,  it 


64  LECTURES    ON    THE 

demonstrates  the  extinction  of  shame  and  of  all  moral 
sensibility,  in  the  abandoned  transgressor.  Now  all 
this,  and  unspeakably  worse  than  this,  is  the  affront 
offered  to  the  Lord  Jehovah,  by  the  sins  of  atheism 
and  idolatry.  I  say  unspeakably  worse,  because  the 
reverence  due  from  man  to  God,  is  not  to  be  compared 
with  that  which  is  due  from  any  one  man  to  another. 
Hence  we  find,  that  throughout  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
the  sin  of  idolatry  (as  being  directly  levelled,  and  that 
in  the  most  provoking  manner,  against  the  claims  and 
authority  of  the  Most  High  God)  is  represented  as  of 
the  most  aggravated  kind,  and  as  being  visited  with 
the  sorest  judgments,  even  in  this  life;  and  if  not  re- 
pented of  and  forsaken,  as  subjecting  the  transgressor 
to  the  most  fearful  condemnation,  in  the  life  that  is  to 
come.  The  remainders  of  this  sin  which  cleave  to  the 
people  of  God  themselves,  by  grieving  his  Holy  Spi- 
rit to  withdraw  his  enlivening  and  consoling  influ- 
ence, are  the  real  cause  of  much,  perhaps  of  most,  of 
the  doubt,  and  fear,  and  spiritual  darkness  and  dejec- 
tion, which  they  experience;  and  of  many  of  the  sore 
chastisements  of  an  external  kind,  which  a  faithful 
and  covenant  keeping  God  inflicts  upon  them,  that  he 
may  teach  them  the  vanity  of  the  creatnres  they  have 
idolized,  and  thus  recall  them  to  himself 

The  result  of  the  whole  is,  that  as  "  God  who  seeth 
all  things,  taketh  notice  of  and  is  much  displeased 
with  the  sin  of  having  any  other  God,"  we  should 
make  it  the  subject  of  constant  and  earnest  prayer, 
that  we  may  be  enabled  to  "set  the  Lord  always  be- 
fore us;"  and  that,  considering  him  as  the  heart 
searching  and  rein  trying  God,  who  is  jealous  for  his 
honour,  we  may  be  deterred  from  every  act  of  idola- 
try, may  be  disposed  to  give  up  every  unhallowed  at- 
tachment to  created  things,  and  may  be  enabled  fully 
to  obey  the  injunction  of  the  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved,  when  speaking  by  the  Holy  Ghost  he  said — 
"  Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from  idols.  Amen." 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  65 


LECTURE  XXXIX. 


The  subject  of  the  present  Lecture  is  the  second  com- 
mandment, which  is — "Tliou  shalt  not  make  unto 
thee  any  graven  image,  or  any  hkeness  of  any  thing 
that  is  in  heaven  above,  or  that  is  in  the  earth  be- 
neath, or  that  is  in  the  water  under  the  earth:  thou 
shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them,  nor  worship 
them;  for  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a  jealous  God, 
visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children, 
unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  them  that 
hate  me;  and  showing  mercy  unto  thousands  of  them 
that  love  me,  and  keep  my  commandments." 

This  precept  of  the  Decalogue,  although  found  in 
the  Vulgate  translation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which 
the  church  of  Rome  holds  to  be  of  higher  authority 
than  the  Hebrew  original  itself,  is,  notwithstanding, 
excluded  by  the  rulers  of  that  church  from  all  their 
popular  books  of  devotion;  and  to  make  the  number 
of  the  commandments  ten,  the  last  is  divided  into  two 
parts.  What  more  palpable  evidence  could  there  be, 
of  a  consciousness  that  a  part  of  their  worship  is  in 
direct  hostility  with  the  moral  law  of  God,  than  this 
fraud  of  withholding  a  part  of  that  law,  as  laid  down 
in  their  own  version  of  the  Bible,  from  the  view  of 
the  people,  many  of  whom  never  know  even  of  its 
existence.  No  wonder  that  the  Pope  should  be  hos- 
tile to  Bible  societies,  and  to  the  unrestrained  pos- 
session and  perusal  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures. 

The  difference  between  the  first  and  ihe  second  pre- 
cept of  the  revealed  moral  code,  ought  to  be  distinct- 
ly noted.  You  will  observe  then,  that  the  first  com- 
mandment relates  to  the  object  of  worship,  and  the 
second  to  the  mode  or  manner  of  that  worship;  the 
first  forbids  the  worship  of  any  other  than  the  true 
God,  the  second  forbids  the  worshipping  even  of  the 
true  God  by  the  use  of  images,  or  any  other  visible 


66 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


symbols;  the  first  impliedly  requires  ail  right  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah,  the  second  prohibits  all  that  is  even 
circiLinstantially  ivrong  in  his  worship.  Thus  care- 
ful has  our  Creator  been,  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the 
homage  which  is  due  to  him  from  his  creatures,  by 
giving  two  commandments,  and  these  forming  the 
first  and  fundamental  part  of  his  moral  system,  the 
one  relative  to  the  nature,  the  other  to  the  expres- 
sion, of  the  worship  and  service  which  he  requires: 
and  this  has  been  done  with  perfect  propriety,  be- 
cause genuine  reverence,  love  and  obedience,  to  the 
Sovereign  of  the  universe,  are  the  first  of  all  moral 
duties,  and  the  proper  foundation  of  every  other;  and 
because  there  is,  in  corrupt  human  nature,  a  strong 
and  awful  propensity  to  refuse  what  is  due  to  God, 
and  to  pollute  and  degrade  his  worship  by  human  in- 
ventions. 

Having  thus  shown  the  difference  between  the  first 
and  the  second  commandment,  let  us  now  a  little  more 
particularly  consider,  according  to  the  statement  of 
our  Catechism — I.  What  the  second  commandment 
requires;  11.  What  it  forbids;  III.  The  reasons  by 
which  its  observance  is  justified  and  enforced. 

I.  "  The  second  commandment  requireth  the  re- 
ceiving, observing  and  keeping  pure  and  entire,  all 
such  religious  worship  and  ordinances  as  God  hath 
appointed  in  his  word." 

That  we  may  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the  re- 
quisitions here  specified,  we  must  first  place  distinct- 
ly in  view,  "the  religious  worship  and  ordinances 
which  God  has  appointed  in  his  word,"  since  these 
are  the  objects  to  which  the  requirements  mentioned 
in  the  answer  relate.  "Religious  worship,"  says  an 
excellent  expositor  of  our  Catechism,*  "  is  that  hom- 
age and  respect  we  owe  to  a  gracious  God,  as  a  God 
of  infinite  perfection;  whereby  we  profess  subjection 
to,  and  confidence  in  him,  as  our  God  in  Christ,  for 
the  supply  of  all  our  wants;  and  ascribe  the  praise 
and  glory  that  is  due  to  him,  as  our  chief  good  and 
only  happiness."  "■  0  come,"  says  the  holy  Psalmist, 
"  let  us  worship  and  bow  down;  let  us  kneel  before 

*  Fisher. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  67 

the  Lord  our  Maker;  for  he  is  our  God,  and  we  are 
the  people  of  his  pasture,  and  the  sheep  of  his  hand." 

"The  ordinances  which  God  has  appointed  in  his 
word,"  and  through  several  of  which  religious  wor- 
ship is  to  be  offered  to  him,  are  accurately  stated  in 
our  Larger  Catechism  to  be — "prayer  and  thanks- 
giving in  the  name  of  Christ;  the  reading,  preaching 
and  hearing  of  the  word;  the  administration  and  re- 
ceiving of  the  sacraments;  church  government  and 
discipline;  the  ministry  and  maintenance  thereof;  re- 
ligious fasting;  swearing  by  the  name  of  God;  and 
vowing  to  him."  The  nature  of  these  ordinances  I 
shall  have  occasion  particularly  to  explain,  if  spared 
to  lecture  on  a  subsequent  part  of  the  Catechism.  In 
the  mean  time,  their  general  nature  has  been  made 
known  to  you  by  education  and  reading,  sufficiently 
to  enable  you  to  understand  what  I  shall  say,  in 
showing  that  they  are  to  be  "  received,  observed,  and 
kept  pure  and  entire." 

1.  The  worship  and  ordinances  which  God  hath 
appointed  in  his  word  are  to  be  received;  that  is,  we 
are  to  take  them  simply  on  the  authority  of  God,  as 
he  has  delivered  them  to  us  in  the  oracles  of  truth, 
without  cavilling  or  objecting  to  any  of  them,  on  ac- 
count of  our  not  seeing  in  what  manner  they  are  fit- 
ted to  do  us  good.  There  has  always  been  a  strong 
disposition  to  this  cavilling  spirit,  ever  since  the  trans- 
gression of  our  first  mother,  when  she  yielded  to  the 
suggestion  of  Satan,  that  she  would  not  be  injured, 
but  benefitted,  by  violating  the  ordinance  of  God,  in 
eating  the  fruit  of  the  interdicted  tree  in  the  Garden 
of  Eden.  Naaman,  the  Syrian,  you  may  remember, 
was,  in  like  manner,  for  a  time,  a  caviller  of  the  same 
description.  When  directed  to  go  and  wash  in  the 
river  Jordan,  for  the  cure  of  his  leprosy,  (instead  of 
receiving  that  cure,  in  a  way  which  his  proud  mind 
had  led  him  to  conceive  would  be  the  most  suitable,) 
he,  at  first,  indignantly  refused  to  comply  with  the 
prescription.  "  Are  not,"  said  he  in  anger — "  are  not 
Abana  and  Pharpar,  rivers  of  Damascus,  better  than 
all  the  waters  of  Israel;  may  I  not  wash  in  them  and 


68 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


be  clean?"  In  the  use,  doubtless,  of  habitual  bath- 
ing, he  did  not  see  how  washing,  in  whatever  man- 
ner applied,  was  to  remove  the  leprosy;  and  if  it 
might  possibly  produce  that  effect,  he  thought  the 
streams  of  his  own  country  were,  for  that  purpose, 
far  preferable  to  the  waters  of  the  Jordan.  He,  how- 
ever, received  no  healing,  till  he  yielded  to  the  kind 
solicitations  of  attendants,  wiser  than  himself,  and 
strictly  complied  with  the  divine  prescription,  as  an- 
nounced by  the  prophet  of  Jehovah;  and  then,  im- 
mediately, his  cure  was  complete.  Now,  my  young 
friends,  there  are  those  in  our  days,  and  within  our 
own  observation,  who  make  objections  to  the  ordi- 
nances and  appointments  of  God,  in  the  very  spirit  of 
transgressing  Eve  and  angry  Naaman.  What  use, 
say  they,  can  there  be  in  prayer,  since  God  knows 
and  is  willing  to  supply  all  our  wants?  What  ad- 
vantage can  there  be  in  baptizing  infants  with  wa- 
ter, and  in  eating  bread  and  drinkiyig  wine,  in  re- 
membrance of  Christ?  Cannot  you  devote  your  chil- 
dren to  God,  and  remember  Christ,  as  well  without 
these  external  rites  as  with  them?  What  possible  be- 
nefit can  be  derived  from  fasting?  Can  abstinence 
from  food  be  pleasing  to  the  God  who  gave  it,  or  a 
refusal  temperately  to  gratify  the  bodily  appetites,  be 
helpful  to  the  soul?  Thus,  my  dear  youth,  I  might 
go  through  the  whole  of  the  ordinances  of  God  which 
have  been  enumerated,  and  state  objections  that  may 
be  made,  and  have  been  made,  to  every  one  of  them. 
But  the  specimen  I  have  given  you  must  suffice. 
And  now  hear  and  remember  my  reply.  To  the  ob- 
jections that  have  just  been  mentioned,  and  to  all  of 
a  similar  kind,  satisfactory  answers  may  be  made, 
and  have  often  been  actually  made,  in  a  detail  of 
reason  and  argument.  But  is  it  not  enough — I  ask 
you,  to  put  the  inquiry  candidly  and  closely  to  your 
own  minds — is  it  not  enough,  and  should  it  not  al- 
ways be  esteemed  enough  to  satisfy  any  rational 
creature,  to  know  that  his  Creator,  infinitely  wise 
and  good,  has  made  an  appointment,  or  instituted  an 
ordinance^  for  the  benefit  of  his  obedient  offspring? 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  69 

What  though  the  shortsighted  creature  cannot  see  in 
what  7nanner  he  is  to  receive  benefit  from  the  ap- 
pointment of  his  Maker?  ought  he  not  to  be  perfect- 
ly satisfied  that  there  is  a  good  reason  for  it,  and  that 
benefit  will  result  from  regarding  it,  since  it  comes 
from  the  wisest  and  best,  the  most  powerful  and  faith- 
ful of  all  beings?  Nay,  is  it  unreasonable  to  suppose 
that  our  heavenly  Father  may  leave  some  things 
which  he  requires,  without  a  full  explanation,  at 
least  for  a  time,  on  purpose  to  see  if  we  have  faith 
enough  to  trust  him  barely  on  his  ivord?  Did  he  not 
adopt  this  method  of  procedure  with  Abraham,  and 
honour  him  as  the  father  of  the  faithful,  for  his  impli- 
cit obedience?  Did  not  our  Saviour  say  to  Peter, 
m  reference  to  one  appointment,  "  What  I  do  thou 
knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter?'^ 
And  when  Peter  absolutely  refused  compliance,  did 
not  our  Lord  say  to  him — "  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou 
hast  no  part  with  me?"  You  cannot  fail,  if  you  re- 
flect, to  answer  these  interrogatories  so  as  fully  and 
freely  to  admit,  that  when  God  speaks,  it  is  infinitely 
reasonable  for  us  immediately  to  obey,  whether  we 
do,  or  do  not,  see  the  grounds  or  reasons  of  his  com- 
mand. We  may  be  assured  that  the  best  of  reasons 
exist  for  all  that  he  requires,  although  for  the  present 
we  do  not  perceive  them.  I  do  not  indeed  dissuade 
you  from  endeavouring  to  understand,  as  far  as  you 
can,  the  nature  and  design  of  all  the  appointments 
and  ordinances  of  God.  You  ought  to  do  this:  and 
you  ought,  by  all  meams,  to  examine  well  whether 
institutions  which  claim  to  be  divine  ordinances,  ap- 
pear to  be  such  by  the  unerring  word  of  God;  but  as 
soon  as  this  is  apparent,  on  a  careful  and  candid  ex- 
amination— as  soon  as  you  see  a  "  thus  saith  the 
Lord,"  for  an  appointment,  then  you  have  the  l)est 
of  all  possible  reasons,  in  the  known  character  of 
God,  for  an  immediate  compliance.  With  prompt 
and  unreserved  obedience,  therefore,  receive  every 
ordinance,  which  appears  from  the  revealed  will  of 
God  to  have  him  for  its  author. 

2.  We  are  not  only  to  receive  the  ordinances  of 


70 


LECTURES     ON    THE 


God,  but  to  observe  them.  It  is  one  thing  to  acknow- 
ledge or  admit  an  institution  to  be  of  Divine  appoint- 
ment, and  another  jiracticaUy  to  treat  it  as  such. 
How  many  are  there,  for  example,  who  admit  that 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  an  ordinance  of 
our  blessed  Saviour,  instituted  in  the  most  affecting 
circumstances,  and  for  the  most  important  purposes, 
and  intended  for  perpetual  observance  in  his  church, 
and  yet,  year  after  year  passes  away,  without  their 
coming  to  this  sacrament,  or  feeling  much  uneasiness 
on  account  of  their  neglect.  Far  be  it  from  me,  my 
young  friends,  to  urge  you  to  a  rash  or  unprepared 
approach  to  the  table  of  the  Lord.  But  would  to  God 
that  both  you,  and  all  who  receive  the  messages  of 
the  gospel,  might  be  made  to  feel  most  sensibly  that 
the  command,  "  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me,"  is 
binding  upon  you;  and  that  you  are  chargeable  with 
a  guilty  neglect,  so  long  as  a  cordial  obedience  to  this 
command  is  not  rendered.  But  I  specify  this  neglect 
at  present,  only  because  it  is  a  common  one,  and  there- 
fore well  adapted  to  illustrate  the  general  subject. 
Recollect  the  enumeration  of  the  ordinances  of  religi- 
ous worship,  given  in  the  first  part  of  this  lecture,  and 
remember  that  you  are  bound  to  observe  them  all. 
That  every  one  of  them  was  given  by  their  Divine 
author  to  be  used;  that  no  one  of  them  can  be  set 
aside  or  neglected,  without  a  pratical  and  criminal 
disregard  to  a  divine  institution;  in  a  word,  that  the 
conscientious  observance  of  them  all,  at  the  times  and 
seasons  proper  for  them  severally,  is  a  duty  solemnly 
binding  on  all  who  bear  the  Christian  name. 

3.  The  ordinances  of  God's  worship  are  to  be  kept 
pure.  All  merely  human  additions  to  the  institutions 
of  the  Most  High,  are  a  usurpation  of  his  preroga- 
tive; they  are  a  reflection  on  his  wisdom  and  good- 
ness, as  if  what  he  has  done  or  commanded  could  be 
improved,  or  have  some  deficiencies  supplied  by  man's 
sagacity.  To  this  there  has  been  a  wonderful  prone- 
ness  in  every  age  of  the  church.  A  very  large  part 
of  all  the  corruptions  of  the  worship  of  God  that  have 
ever  debased  and  dishonoured  it,  has  proceeded  from 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  71 

this  cause.  To  this  origin  may  be  traced  all  the  will 
worship  of  the  Romish  church,  and  all  "  teaching  for 
doctrines  the  commandments  of  men,"  and  all  that 
admixture  of  human  inventions  with  divine  appoint- 
ments, which  still  exist  in  churches  less  corrupt  than 
that  of  Rome.  God's  work  is  perfect,  and  all  that  we 
presumptuously  add  to  it  is  an  impurity  which  he 
abhors. 

4.  The  worship  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  are  (o 
be  kept  entire.    As  we  are  to  add  nothing  to  them,  so 
we  are  to  subtract  nothing  from  them.     Entireness 
in  the  observance  of  divine  ordinances  is  obligatory 
both  on  churches  and  individuals;  and  3^et  it  is  too 
j  often  violated  by  both.     Discipline,  for  example,  is 
I  an  ordinance  which  God  has  appointed  in  the  order 
■  of  his  house,  and  for  the  benefit  of  all  who  belong  to 
the  household  of  faith:  and  when  the  church  neglects 
discipline,  (and  she  does  often  neglect  it,  even  in  the 
grossest  manner,)  she  most  criminally  disregards  one 
of  the  ordinances  of  her  Lord  and  head.     She  does 
not  keep  those  ordinances  entire.     In  like   manner, 
when  an  individual   Christian  permits  one  duty  to 
displace  another,  or  gives  such  an  attention  to  certain 
duties  as  almost  wholly  to  neglect  others,  he  does  not 
keep  the  ordinances  of  his  God  entire.     It  is  a  high 
commendation  which  the  word  of  inspiration  bestows 
on  Zacharias  and  his  wife  Elizabeth,  when  it  tells  us 
that  "they  were  both  righteous  before  God,  walking 
in  ALL   the  ordinances  and  commandments  of  the 
Lord  blaineless.-'     This  it  is  which  at  once  adorns 
and  promotes  religion — silences  its  enemies,  encour- 
ages its  friends,  and  fills  with  the  sweetest  consola- 
tions of  Divine  grace,  those  who  exhibit  this  lovely 
example  of  entireness,  in  their  observance  of  all  God's 
ordinances. 

We  now  proceed  to  consider  more  particularly, 
II.  What  the  second  commandment  forbids.  "  The 
second  commandment,"  says  our  Catechism,  "forbid- 
deth  the  worshipping  of  God  by  images,  or  any  other 
way  not  appointed  in  his  word."  It  may  be  proper 
at  entering  on  the  consideration  of  the  prohibitions  in 


73  LECTURES     ON    THE 

this  commandment,  to  remark,  that  they  relate  exclu- 
sively to  the  making  and  use  of  images  for  religious 
purposes.  "  It  is  lawful,"  says  Fisher  in  his  Cate- 
chism,"to  have  images  or  pictures  of  mere  creatures, 
provided  they  be  only  for  ornament;  or  the  design  be 
mexeXy  historical;  to  transmit  the  memory  of  persons 
and  their  actions  to  posterity."  The  tabernacle  of 
Jehovah  made  by  his  order  in  the  wilderness,  and 
especially  the  temple  erected  for  his  worship  and 
with  his  approbation  by  Solomon,  called  into  exer- 
cise, very  extensively,  many  of  those  which  are  now 
denominated  "  (he  fine  arts."  You  perceive  then, 
that  the  statuary,  the  painter,  the  engraver,  the 
worker  in  metals,  or  any  other  artist,  who  employs 
his  skill  on  sensible  and  created  objects,  or  even  on 
objects  of  fancy — if  fancy  do  not  intrude  on  the  pre- 
rogatives of  God,  or  cause  his  worship  to  be  desecra- 
ted by  the  productions  of  his  art — is  not  to  be  con- 
sidered as  violating  this  commandment  in  any  respect 
or  degree.  The  command  relates  only  to  images, 
made  for,  and  employed  in  the  worship  of  God. 

We  have  already,  in  explaining  the  import  of  the 
first  commandment,  considered  at  some  length  the 
sin  of  idolatry;  and  I  had  occasion  then  to  remark, 
that  if  worship  be  paid  to  an  image  of  any  kind, 
there  is,  in  every  such  act,  a  violation  of  the  first 
precept  of  the  decalogue,  as  well  as  of  the  second. 
Now  if  images  be  used  at  all  in  religious  service,  all 
experience  shows  that  they  will  be  worshipped.  Ad- 
mit that  the  avowed  and  real  purpose  be,  to  make 
use  of  the  visible  representations  merely  to  impress 
the  mind  more  powerfully  with  a  sense  of  the  invisi- 
ble God,  still  there  is  such  a  disposition  in  mankind 
to  overlook  and  forget  what  is  invisible,  and  to  re- 
gard that  only  which  is  addressed  to  the  outward 
senses,  that  idolatry  is  the  certain  result;  and  hence 
we  may  see  at  once,  the  propriety  and  importance  of 
this  second  command. 

We  find  the  pretence  that  the  worship  of  the  true 
God  may  be  assisted  by  the  use  of  images,  pointedly 
disallowed  in  several  express  declarations  and  repre- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM. 


73 


sentations  of  holy  Scripture.  Thus,  to  mention  but 
one,  the  mohen  calf  which  Aaron  made  at  Horeb, 
was  avowedly  intended  to  aid  in  the  worship  of  the 
true  God;  for  we  are  told.  Exodus  xxxii.  5 — "  When 
Aaron  saw  it,  he  built  an  altar  before  it,  and  said, 
"To-morrow  is  a  feast  to  the  Lord" — in  the  original, 
"  to  Jehovah."  Yet  this  was  considered  and  treated 
as  directly  contrary  to  the  divine  order,  and  they  who 
professed  to  worship  Jehovah  before  the  golden  calf, 
are  expressly  charged  with  worshipping  the  image 
itself — "  They  have  made  them  a  golden  calf,  and 
have  worshipped  it." 

Some  of  the  ancient  heathen  had  sagacity  enough 
to  perceive  the  danger  there  was,  that  the  use  of  ima- 
ges, even  in  the  worship  of  their  false  gods,  might 
produce  a  forgetfulness  of  the  gods  themselves.  His- 
tory assures  us  that  Numa  Pompilius,  the  second 
king  of  Rome,  and  the  institutor  of  the  religious  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  ancient  Romans,  taught  them 
not  to  worship  the  gods  by  the  use  of  images,  and 
that  accordingly  no  graven  or  painted  statue  was 
permitted  to  appear  in  their  temples,  till  more  than  a 
century  and  a  half  after  the  time  of  Numa.  How 
surprising  does  it  seem,  that  Christian  Rome  should 
abound  in  an  impious  folly,  which  heathen  Rome,  in 
its  origin,  had  wisdom  enough  to  prohibit  and  avoid? 
It  is  not  true,  as  the  Romanists  tell  us,  that  they  do 
not  worship  the  images  or  pictures,  of  which  they 
make  so  profuse  a  use  in  their  churches,  and  indeed 
in  the  whole  of  their  religious  ritual.  We  have  seen 
the  natural  tendency  of  this  practice  to  introduce 
idolatry,  and  we  have  seen  the  practice  aV^e//" charged 
as  idolatry  on  the  Israelites,  by  Jehovah  himself.  But 
all  this  apart,  it  is  too  palpable  to  admit  of  a  plausible 
denial,  that  by  the  great  mass  of  the  Romish  commu- 
nion the  images  and  pictures  which  they  constantly 
use  are  actually  worshipped,  and  that  little  or  no 
pains  are  taken  to  prevent  it,  by  their  religious  teach- 
ers. Nay,  we  do  not  go  too  far  when  we  assert,  that 
a  reverence  (truly  and  strictly  idolatrous)  for  visible 
symbols,  is  encouraged  and  even  inculcated,  by  the 

VOL.  II. — 6 


74  LECTURES     ON     THE 

highest  authorities  in  the  church  of  Rome.  What  is 
more  notorious  than  that,  in  the  very  streets  of  a  city, 
all  are  required  to  bow  to,  and  actually  worship  the 
HOST,  that  is,  a  consecrated  wafer,  which  is  carried 
round  for  the  purpose.  Even  strangers  and  Protes- 
tants are,  in  many  places,  compelled  to  do  homage  to 
this  abominable  idolatry. 

But  suppose  that  the  reasonableness  and  import- 
ance of  the  precept  before  us  were  not,  as  we  have 
seen  that  it  is,  plain  and  obvious,  still,  as  heretofore 
shown,  God  may  justly,  and  for  an  important  pur- 
pose, require  us  to  yield  a  ready  and  prompt  obedi- 
ence to  any  plain  command  given  by  himself,  although 
we  may  not  be  able  at  once  to  perceive  its  utility. 
Now  there  is  not  a  plainer  or  more  explicit  command 
in  the  whole  revealed  will  of  God,  than  this  which 
forbids  the  use  of  images  in  his  worship.  There  is 
even  a  particularity  in  it,  which  is  scarcely  equalled 
in  any  other  article  of  the  decalogue.  Not  resting  in 
a  general  inhibition  of  "graven  images,"  the  holy 
oracle  goes  on  to  specify,  that  it  must  be  regarded  as 
extendmg  "  to  any  likeness  of  any  thing  that  is  in  the 
heaven  above,  or  that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  that 
is  in  the  water  under  the  earth."  Then,  as  to  the 
worship  of  idolatrous  objects,  it  specifies — "Thou 
shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them,  nor  serve  them." 
It  is  truly  painful  to  remark,  that  it  would  seem  as  if 
this  command  of  the  Most  High  had  been  scrutinized, 
for  the  very  purpose  of  going  contrary  to  its  provi- 
sions, and  this  by  a  large  portion  of  those  who  bear 
the  Christian  name.  Of  "things  in  heaven,"  I  know 
of  none  of  which  they  have  not  attempted  to  make 
likenesses — of  the  ever  blessed  God  himself,  of  the 
holy  angels,  of  the  mother  of  our  glorious  Redeemer, 
of  the  saints,  or  imaginary  saints,  innumerable.  Of 
"  things  on  earth,"  likenesses  of  the  cross  are  ex- 
hibited in  the  very  structure  of  their  places  of  wor- 
ship, and  in  as  many  conspicuous  parts  of  them  and 
approaches  to  them,  as  the  structures  will  permit. 
These  likenesses  are  also  fabricated  in  miniature,  as 
if  to  rival  the  silver  shrines  that  were  made  by  the 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  75 

craftsmen  at  Ephesusfor  the  heathen  goddess  Diana; 
and  they  are  vended  and  worn  as  sacred  ornaments,* 
both  by  men  and  women,  as  amulets  or  charms 
against  evil  spirits,  and  as  mementoes  and  aids  of  de- 
votion. A  church  without  pictures,  or  statues,  is  con- 
sidered as  incomplete,  and  hardly  fit  to  be  used  as  a 
place  of  worship.  But  indeed  it  is  wholly  impracti- 
cable to  give  a  detail  of  the  various  likenesses  of 
things  in  heaven  and  things  on  the  earth,  which  men 
bearing  the  Christian  name,  have  formed,  in  pointed 
violation  of  the  command  we  consider.  Equally  pal- 
pable too  is  the  contravention  of  that  part  of  the  pre- 
cept that  forbids  "  bowing  down"  to  these  images,  for 
the  purpose  of  religious  service.  Men,  as  already 
remarked,  are  required  to  bow  down  before  them; 
and  to  refuse  or  neglect  this  act  of  homage,  is  viewed 
as  an  impiety  approaching  to  sacrilege;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  acts  of  devotion  before  these  images,  are 
considered  as  peculiarly  meritorious  and  acceptable. 
In  short,  if  you  suppose  a  person  ignorant  of  what  is 
passing  in  the  world,  and  to  have  learned  simply 
from  the  first  and  second  commands  of  the  decalogue 
what  is  the  acceptable  worship  of  God,  both  as  to 
matter  and  form,  and  then  to  have  shown  him  the 
worship  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  churches, — would 
he  not  say,  these  people  have  certainly  either  never 
known  what  is  contained  in  the  revealed  will  of  God, 
or  if  they  have,  they  must  have  determined  to  act,  in 
many  of  their  religious  observances,  in  direct  contra- 
riety to  the  divine  precepts? 

But  according  to  the  answer  of  our  Catechism  now 
under  consideration,  not  only  is  the  use  of  graven 
images  and  sensible  symbols  of  every  kind  prohibited 
in  the  service  of  God,  but  we  are  forbidden  to  wor- 
ship him  "in  any  other  way  not  appointed  in  his 
word."  I  will  shortly  notice  a  few  of  these  other 
forbidden  ways;  and  I  solicit  a  particular  attention  to 
what  I  shall  offer  on  this  part  of  the  answer  before  us, 

*  "On  her  white  breast  a  sparkling  cross  she  wore, 

Which  Jews  might  kiss,  and  infidels  adore." — Pope, 


76  LECTURES     ON     THE 

because  I  believe  that  you  whom  I  address  are  in  far 
less  danger  of  transgressing  the  divine  precept,  by  the 
formal  use  of  images,  or  visible  symbols,  than  of  vio- 
lating it  in  some  of  the  methods,  or  instances,  now  to 
be  specified. 

1.  We  are  forbidden  by  the  manifest  scope  of  the 
second  commandment  to  form,  even  in  our  minds, 
any  fanciful  representation  of  the  great  and  invisible 
Jehovah.  The  human  fancy  is  exceedingly  prone  to 
create  forms  or  phantasms  of  its  own;  and  it  certainly 
requires  some  care  and  effort,  to  restrain  it  in  religious 
worship,  from  framing  some  image  or  picture  of  the 
unseen  Deity;  to  abstract  the  mind  from  every  sensi- 
ble or  imaginary  object;  to  set  God  alone  before  it, 
and  to  fill  it  with  deep  awe  and  solemn  reverence  for 
that  pure,  glorious,  spiritual,  and  infinite  being,  to 
whom  all  our  prayers  and  praises,  in  order  to  be  ac- 
ceptable, must  be  addressed.  The  duty  here  stated 
is  clearly  implied,  or  rather  explicitly  enjoined,  by  our 
Saviour,  where  he  says  (John  iv.  24,)  "God  is  a 
Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship  him 
in  spirit  and  in  truth."  Many,  my  dear  youth,  very 
many,  it  is  to  be  feared,  transgress  the  second  com- 
mandment, in  the  way  to  which  this  particular  points 
your  attention. 

2.  What  is  called  in  the  Holy  Scripture  "•  will  wor- 
ship," is  forbidden  by  the  spirit  of  the  second  com- 
mandment. By  will  worship,  we  are  to  understand 
every  thing  in  religion  which,  not  being  prescribed 
in  the  revealed  will  of  God,  has  no  higher  or  better 
origin  than  the  will,  invention,  or  device  of  man.  The 
sinfulness  of  this  will  worship  consists  in  its  carrying 
with  it  an  arrogant  implication,  that  the  Creator's  re- 
quisitions, made  known  in  his  written  word,  are  im- 
perfect and  defective,  and  need  to  be  amended  or 
supplied  by  the  creature's  wisdom,  contrivance,  or 
prescription.  Thus  in  some  churches  called  Christian, 
the  sacraments  of  the  New  Testament — Baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper — are  not  administered  agreeably 
to  the  divine  institution,  by  simply  washing  with 
water  in  the  name  of  the  sacred  Three,  and  by  giving 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  77 

and  receiving  common  bread  and  wine  as  the  memo- 
rials of  the  death  and  sacrifice  of  Christ,  but  with 
several  vain  appendages,  which  are  entirely  the  un- 
authorized devices  and  additions  of  men.  Under  this 
head,  also,  must  be  ranked  a  multitude  of  superstitions, 
and  profane  rites  and  practices;  such  as  endeavouring 
to  unveil  future  events,  by  applying  to  fortune  tellers, 
or  prognosticators;  using  unlawful  means  to  prevent 
or  cure  diseases,  or  to  obtain  an  object  of  any  kind, 
though  lawful  and  desirable  in  itself;  "  simony  and 
sacrilege;  all  neglect,  contempt,  hindering  and  oppos- 
ing the  worship  and  ordinances  which  God  hath  ap- 
pointed."* 

Certain  false  appearances  of  religion,  likewise,  be- 
long to  the  class  of  errors  and  evils  that  fall  under 
this  particular.  When  the  minds  of  men  become 
greatly  excited  by  religious  considerations,  without 
being  suitably  enlightened  and  guarded,  they  are  ex- 
ceedingly prone  to  prescribe,  both  for  themselves  and 
others,  some  extraordinary  religious  services,  or  pecu- 
liar austerities,  or  a  devotion  of  their  time  and  pro- 
perty to  what  they  consider  sacred  uses,  which  are 
not  required,  nor  in  the  least  degree  countenanced,  in 
the  Scriptures  of  truth.  From  this  root,  the  whole 
system  of  Monkery  and  Celibacy,  with  all  their  at- 
tendant follies,  impositions,  and  unnumbered  mischiefs 
of  various  kinds,  have  sprung  up  and  been  nourished; 
and  to  the  very  same  origin  may  be  traced  the  un- 
happy and  reproachful  extravagances,  which  have 
been  witnessed  in  some  revivals,  or  supposed  revivals 
of  religion,  in  our  own  country.  A  blind,  heated, 
rash,  and  misguided  zeal,  has,  in  various  ways,  done 
incalculable  injury  to  the  cause  of  genuine  vital  piety. 
We  should  see  to  it  therefore  that  we- have  a  plain 
scriptural  warrant  for  every  religious  act,  duty,  or 
service,  that  we  either  attempt  ourselves,  or  enjoin 
on  others.  Without  this,  whatever  show  there  may 
be  of  unusual  sanctity,  or  holy  ardour,  the  issue  will 
always  be  unhappy.   The  sin  of  will  worship  is  com- 

*  Larger  Catechism. 


78  LECTURES      ON     THE 

milted,  and  the  consequences  will,  in  the  end,  be  un- 
favourable to  pure  and  undefiled  religion. 

3.  Those  who  altogether  neglect  public  worship,  or 
at  any  time  unnecessarily  absent  themselves  from  it, 
or  who  disregard  any  of  the  ordinances  or  duties 
which  God  has  appointed  or  commanded;  and  those 
also  who  pretend  that  they  can  serve  him  more  ad- 
vantageously in  some  other  way,  devised  and  adopted 
by  themselves,  must  be  considered  as  grossly  violat- 
ing the  command  before  us.  "  This  precept  is  also 
transgressed  by  not  attendiiig  on  the  ordinances  of 
God  with  that  holy,  humble,  and  becoming  frame  of 
spirit,  that  the  solemnity  of  the  duties  themselves,  or 
the  authority  of  God  enjoining,  or  the  advantages 
which  we  may  expect  to  receive  by  them,  call  for. 
When  we  do  not  seriously  think  what  we  are  going 
about,  before  we  engage  in  holy  duties,  or  watch  over 
our  own  hearts  and  affections,  or  else  worship  God  in 
a  careless  and  indifferent  manner;  in  which  case  we 
may  be  said  ''  to  draw  nigh  to  him  with  our  hps,  while 
our  hearts  are  far  from  him.'  "* 

Let  us  now  consider  "  the  reasons  annexed  to  the 
second  commaiidment,'"  which,  according  to  our  Ca- 
techism, are — "  God's  sovereignly  over  us,  Ms' pro- 
priety in  us,  and  the  zeal  he  hath  to  his  own  loor- 
ship.'^  This  is  to  be  considered  as  the  exposition  of 
the  words  in  the  sacred  text — "  For  I,  the  Lord  thy 
God,  am  a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children,  unto  the  third  and  fourth 
generation  of  them  that  hate  me;  and  showing  mercy 
unto  thousands  of  them  that  love  me  and  keep  my 
commandments."  Formal  reasons,  it  may  be  ob- 
served, are  annexed  only  to  this,  and  the  three  follow- 
ing precepts  of  the  decalogue.  Of  the  three  reasons 
conjoined  with  the  commandment  under  consideration, 
God's  sovereignly  over  us,  is  the  first — This  sove- 
reignty is  expressed  in  the  sacred  oracle  by  the  words 
"I  the  Lord."  The  very  term  Jehovah,  here  trans- 
lated Lord,  denotes  self-existence;  and  implies  that 

*  Ridgley. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  79 

the  great  and  glorious  Being  to  whom  it  refers  is 
omnipotent  or  Almighty,  and  the  fountain  or  source 
from  which  all  other  beings  derive  their  existence. 
This  supremacy,  the  underived  "  I  am"  here  brings 
into  view,  as  a  reason  why  the  command  he  delivers, 
relative  to  the  exclusion  of  images  in  his  worship, 
should  receive  the  most  careful  and  exact  obedience. 
And  surely  this  is  reason  enough.  Power,  among 
creatures,  may  indeed  exist,  without  wisdom  to  di- 
rect it,  or  benevolence  and  goodness  to  influence  its 
exercise.  But  we  know  it  does  not  so  exist,  and 
I  think  it  is  inconceivable  that  it  should  thus  exist, 
in  the  Supreme  Being.  It  seems,  therefore,  to  be 
taken  for  granted  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  that  every 
intelligent  being  who  has  any  knowledge  of  the  true 
God,  will  know  and  understand  that  his  almighty 
power  will,  and  for  ever  must  be,  righteously  exer- 
cised. "  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do 
right?"  Hence  appeals  are  made  to  this  power, 
to  silence  all  rebellion  in  the  creature,  and  all  ques- 
tioning of  any  of  his  commands,  ways,  or  doings. 
"It  is  somewhat  remarkable,"  says  an  excellent  wri- 
ter, "  that  in  the  book  of  Job,  composed  on  purpose 
to  resolve  some  difficulties  in  providence,  when  God 
is  brought  in  as  speaking  himself  out  of  the  whirlwind, 
he  makes  use  of  no  other  argument  than  his  tremen- 
dous majesty  and  irresistible  power!"*  This  then 
is  the  first  reason  annexed  to  the  second  command- 
ment, that  God  "  is  sovereign  Lord  over  us,  and  has 
a  right  to  make  what  laws  he  pleases,  about  his  own 
worship;  and  that  we,  as  God's  subjects,  are  bound 
to  observe  these  laws,  and  to  worship  him  no  other 
way!"t 

The  second  reason  annexed  to  this  command  is, 
God's  "propriety  in  us."  Speaking,  as  it  were,  per- 
sonally, to  each  individual  of  his  chosen  people,  he 
says  of  himself,  I  am  "  thy  God."  Even  among 
men,  no  right  of  exclusive  property  is  considered 
more  indisputable  and  valid,  than  that  which  we  have 

*  Witherspoon.  t  Willison. 


80 


LECTURES      ON     THE 


to  the  productions  of  our  own  ingenuity  and  work- 
manship. But  all  mankind  are  "  God's  workman- 
ship." They  are,  in  a  degree  infinitely  beyond  what 
men  can  affirm  of  their  sagacity  and  labour,  the  crea- 
tures, the  products,  of  his  power  and  skill.  Yet  the 
Lord  Jehovah  has  claims  on  us, as  his  peculiar  property 
and  possession,  still  stronger  than  those  which  he  de- 
rives from  creation.  When  by  sin  and  rebellion, 
man  had  risen  up  against  his  Maker,  alienated  him- 
self from  his  rightful  owner  and  sovereign,  and  made 
himself  over,  as  it  were,  to  the  enemy  of  both  God 
and  man,  and  deserved,  as  the  just  recompense  of 
his  enormous  guilt,  to  be  banished  for  ever  from  all 
good;  God  not  only  spared  him,  but  provided  re- 
demption for  him.  Yes,  my  dear  youth,  and  the  price 
of  redemption  from  our  slavery  to  sin  and  Satan,  and 
the  incurred  penalty  of  eternal  death,  was  high  in- 
deed; too  high  for  any  created  being  to  provide  and 
pay.  For  "  we  were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible 
things  as  silver  and  gold,  but  with  the  precious  blood 
of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without 
spot."  Surely,  when  all  this  is  considered,  God's 
'•'propriety  in  us,"  his  exclusive  right  to  us  and  all 
that  we  have  and  are,  must  be  seen  to  furnish  the 
strongest  reason  conceivable,  for  our  conforming  to 
that  method  of  worshipping  and  serving  him  which 
he  may  choose  to  prescribe,  and  for  our  rejecting  with 
abhorrence,  every  mode  which  he  has  forbidden. 

The  third  and  last  reason  by  which  obedience  to 
the  second  commandment  is  enforced  is,  "the  zeal 
which  God  hath  for  his  own  worship."  "  I  the  Lord 
thy  God,  am  a  jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquities  of 
the  fathers  upon  the  children,  unto  the  third  and  fourth 
generation  of  them  that  hate  me,  and  showing  mercy 
unto  thousands  of  them  that  love  me,  and  keep  my 
commandments."  Whenever  the  Deity,  in  conde- 
scension to  human  weakness,  is  pleased  to  speak  to 
us  "after  the  manner  of  men."  we  must  be  careful 
not  to  conceive  of  him  as  possessing  any  of  the  imper- 
fections or  passions  of  our  nature.  Thus,  when  it  is 
said  that  he  is  "a  jealous  God,"  we  are  not  to  con- 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  81 

ceive  of  jealousy  in  him,  as  fully  corresponding  to 
that  feeling,  as  it  exists  in  the  human  mind.  All  that 
is  meant  is,  that  the  Deity  has  a  holy  sensibility  in 
regard  to  every  thing  which  relates  to  his  worship: 
which  may  be  illustrated  to  us  by  the  sensitiveness 
and  vigilance  which  we  witness  in  one  of  our  kind, 
under  the  influence  of  jealousy,  in  regard  to  purity 
and  delicacy  of  conduct  in  one  who  is  most  beloved, 
and  in  whose  affections  no  rival  can  be  tolerated. 
Idolatry  is  often  in  Scripture  represented  as  spiritual 
adultery;  and  those  who  indulge  in  it,  or  even  lean 
toward  it,  as  resembling  those  who  are  basely  regard- 
less of  the  marriage  covenant. 

As  to  God's  visiting  the  iniquities  of  parents  upon 
their  children,  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of 
them  that  hate  him,  you  must  be  careful  to  observe 
that  the  children  thus  visited,  as  well  as  their  parents, 
are  distinctly  said  to  be  those  that  hate  God.  He 
never  inflicts  spiritual  judgments  on  pious  children, 
for  the  sins  of  their  wicked  parents  or  progenitors; 
although  temporal  calamities,  such  as  disease,  poverty 
and  grief,  are  not  unfrequently  entailed  on  children 
by  the  vices  of  their  parents.  Yet  even  these  calami- 
ties, if  the  children  be  pious,  are  always  overruled 
for  their  eternal  benefit.  Now,  it  should  be  observed, 
that  no  hater  of  God  ever  is,  or  indeed  can  be,  pun- 
ished in  this  life,  more  severely  than  his  own  proper 
iniquities  deserve;  and  if  God,  for  wise  and  holy  pur- 
poses, determines  to  punish  wicked  parents  in  this 
life,  less  than  their  sins  deserve,  (reserving  their  full 
and  more  awful  retribution  for  a  future  state,)  and 
inflicts  greater  temporal  sufferings  on  their  offspring 
than  they  would  otherwise  endure,  yet  unsjieakahly 
less,  after  all,  than  their  own  proper  iniquities  deserve, 
is  there  any  injustice  in  this?  There  is  not  the  shadow 
of  it.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  not  only  equity,  but 
wisdom,  and  goodness  too,  in  the  dispensation.  A 
solemn  warning  is  held  forth,  both  to  parents  and 
children,  which  may  have,  and  is  intended  to  have,  a 
salutary  influence,  in  preventing  entirely  the  threat- 
ened evils.     It  is  also  worthy  of  special  notice,  how, 


82 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


in  the  midst  of  these  fearful  comminations,  still 
"  mercy  rejoiceth  against  judgment."  The  threaten- 
ed judgments  extend  only  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generations  of  those  who  hate  God;  but  mercy  is 
promised  to  thousands,  both  of  generations  and  in- 
dividuals, of  them  that  love  the  Lord  and  keep  his 
commandments.  Thus  you  see,  dear  youth,  that 
your  heavenly  Father  has  set  before  you,  all  that  is 
awful  on  the  one  hand,  and  all  that  is  alluring  on  the 
other,  to  engage  you  most  carefully  to  regard  what 
he  has  required  of  you  in  this,  and  in  all  his  other 
commandments.  Meditate  seriously,  I  beseech  you, 
both  on  the  penalties  and  the  promises,  here  and  else- 
where exhibited  in  God's  holy  word;  and  may  his 
grace  incline  you  to  shun  the  evil,  and  choose  the 
good,  to  the  glory  of  his  name  and  your  own  eternal 
welfare  and  happiness.     Amen. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  83 


LECTURE  XL. 


The  third  commandment,  which  we  are  now  to 
consider,  is  thus  expressed: 

"Thou  shall  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  in  vain;  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless, 
that  (aketh  his  name  in  vain." 

This  commandment,  according  to  onr  Catechism, 
"requireth  the  holy  and  reverent  use  of  God's  names, 
titles,  attributes,  ordinances,  words,  and  works." 

There  is  in  the  decalogue  a  beautiful  order,  not  I 
believe  generally  observed,  in  the  statement  of  the 
duties  which  we  owe  to  God.  In  the  first  command- 
ment, the  only  proper  object  of  religious  worship  is 
clearly  set  before  us;  in  the  second,  the  only  accep- 
table mode  or  method  of  worship  is  distinctly  pre- 
scribed; and  in  the  third,  the  right  temper  of  mind 
for  the  performance  of  God's  worship,  is  specified  and 
required.  In  view  of  this  close  connexion  of  duties 
enjomed  by  these  precepts,  I  remark,  that  it  is  not 
easy,  nor  indeed  practicable,  to  treat  of  them  sepa- 
rately; and  yet  distinctly  and  fully- — they  unavoidably 
include  or  involve  each  other.  Accordingly,  in  the 
three  or  four  lectures  which  precede  the  present,  a 
great  part  of  what  is  required  in  the  third  command- 
ment has  been  anticipated.  Another  part  we  had  oc- 
casion to  consider  in  the  very  beginning  of  our  course, 
in  speaking  of  the  Being,  attributes,  word  and  works 
of  God — subjects  to  which  the  first  twelve  answers  of 
our  Catechism  chiefly  and  directly  relate.  The  ordi- 
nances of  divine  institution,  I  further  remark,  will 
hereafter  demand  our  particular  attention,  both  as  to 
their  nature,  and  the  reverent  manner  in  which  they 
ought  to  be  observed.  In  speaking,  therefore,  of 
what  is  required  in  this  commandment,  I  shall  con- 


84  LECTtTRES    ON    THE 

fine  myself  to  a  brief  notice  of  two  or  three  particu- 
lars; and 

1,  The  names  and  titles  of  God  may  need  some  far- 
ther explanation.  In  assigning  names  to  men,  the  de- 
sign, yon  know,  is  to  discriminate  one  individual 
from  another;  and  among  the  ancient  nations,  names 
were  not  entirely  arbitrary  as  with  us,  but  were  often 
intended  to  be  indicative  of  the  character  of  the  indi- 
viduals to  whom  they  were  applied.  Agreeably  to 
this  usage,  the  Supreme  Being,  in  condescending  to 
make  himself  known  to  men,  has  assumed  names  that 
discriminate  him  from  all  other  beings,  and  which 
most  impressively  indicate  his  infinitely  glorious  na- 
ture or  character.  Thus  we  are  told  that  when  Moses 
first  received  a  command  to  return  from  the  land  of 
Midian  to  Egypt,  for  the  deliverance  of  his  people,  he 
"said  unto  God,  Behold  when  I  come  unto  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  and  shall  say  unto  them,  The  God  of 
your  fathers  hath  sent  me  unto  you;  and  they  shall 
say  to  me,  What  is  his  name?  What  shall  I  say  unto 
them?  And  God  said  unto  Moses,  I  am  that  I  am: 
And  he  said,  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  the  children  of 
Israel,  I  am  hath  sent  me  unto  you."  And  then,  after 
recognizing  his  covenant  relation  to  their  fathers,  he 
adds — "  This  is  my  name  for  ever,  and  this  my  memo- 
rial to  all  generations."  Dr.  Scott  remarks  on  this 
passage,  that  "  I  am  that  I  am;  or,  I  will  be  that 
I  WILL  BE,  signifies,  I  am  He  that  exists,  a-iid  implies 
self-existence,  independence,  unchangeableness,  in- 
comprehensibility, eternity,  and  consummate  perfec- 
tion. Jehovah  (a  name  of  similar  signification)  thus 
distinguished  himself  from  the  idols  of  the  nations, 
which  are  nothing  in  the  world;  and  from  all  crea- 
tures, which  have  only  a  derived,  dependent,  mutable 
existence  in  him,  and  from  him."  In  the  34th  chap- 
ter of  Exodus,  we  have  a  remarkable  passage,  in 
which  God  is  said  to  proclaim  his  name ;  and  this 
name  is  said  to  consist  of  the  appellations  of  Lord,  or 
Jehovah,  and  God,  with  an  enumeration  of  his  moral 
attributes — "The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and 
gracious,  long  suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  85 

and  truth;  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving 
iniquity  and  transgression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by 
no  means  clear  the  guilty."  The  relations  which  the 
three  persons  of  the  one  adorable  Godhead  sustain  to 
each  other,  are,  you  are  aware,  made  known  to  us  by 
the  terms,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

The  titles  of  God,  as  well  as  his  names,  are  men- 
tioned in  the  answer  we  consider.  The  difference  be- 
tween these,  according  to  Fisher,  is  tliis — "  His  names 
set  forth  wliat  he  is  in  himself,  his  titles  what  he  is 
unto  others."  These  titles,  moreover,  are,  by  the 
same  writer,  distinguished  into  those  which  belong  to 
the  Deity  "as  the  God  of  nature,  and  those  which  are 
ascribed  to  him  as  the  God  of  grace."  As  the  God 
of  nature,  his  titles  are  such  as  these — "  The  Creator 
of  the  ends  of  the  earth;  the  Preserver  of  man;  King 
of  nations,  and  Lord  of  Hosts."  The  titles  ascribed 
to  him  as  the  God  of  grace,  are  the  following,  among 
others — "The  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob; 
the  Holy  one  of  Israel;  King  of  Saints;  the  Father  of 
Mercies;  the  Hearer  of  Prayer;  the  God  of  Peace; 
the  God  of  Hope;  the  God  of  Salvation."  The  most 
common  and  ordinary  title  ascribed  to  God  in  the 
New  Testament,  is  the  infinitely  amiable  and  encour- 
aging one.  The  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  We  find  also,  in  the  prayer  dictated  by  our 
blessed  Redeemer  to  his  disciples,  that  he  teaches 
them  to  address  the  Majesty  of  heaven  and  earth  as 
"  Our  Father  in  heaven;"  and  the  apostle  Paul  gives 
it  as  the  language  of  the  spirit  of  adoption,  that  those 
who  possess  it  address  God,  crying  "Abba  Father." 
What,  my  dear  youth,  can  be  more  condescending  and 
tender  than  this?  What  a  more  constraining  motive, 
to  come  with  holy  freedom  and  delight  to  a  prayer 
hearing  God? 

2.  Oaths,  vows,  and  lots,  are  mentioned  in  our 
Larger  Catechism  as  included  in  the  requisitions  of 
this  commandment.  What  is  unlawful,  we  are  to  con- 
sider in  speaking  of  things  forbidden  in  the  precept 
before  us.     At  present  we  confine  ourselves  to  things 


86  LECTURES     ON    THE 

required,  and  among  them  we  place  religious  oaths, 
or  those  which  are  taken  with  religious  solemnity. 

"  An  oath  is  an  appeal  to  God,  the  searcher  of 
hearts,  for  the  truth  of  what  we  say,  and  always  ex- 
presses or  supposes  an  imprecation  of  his  judgment 
upon  us,  if  we  prevaricate.  An  oath,  therefore,  im- 
plies a  belief  in  God  and  his  providence,  and  indeed 
is  an  act  of  worship,  and  so  accounted  in  Scripture, 
as  in  that  expression.  Thou  sho.lt  fear  the  Lord  thy 
God — and  shall  swear  hy  his  name.  Its  use  in  hu- 
man affairs  is  very  great,  when  managed  with  judg- 
ment."* In  the  passage  just  quoted,  there  is  an  in- 
spired precept,  enjoining  a  solemn  oath;  we  have  also 
examples  in  the  sacred  Scripture  of  the  Deity  swear- 
ing by  himself;  and  in  the  New  Testament,  as  well 
as  in  the  Old,  the  lawfulness  of  oaths  is  distinctly  re- 
cognized, where  it  is  said,  "  an  oath  for  confirmation 
is  the  end  of  all  strife;"  so  that  it  cannot  be  fairly  as- 
serted that  solenui  swearing  was  a  part  of  the  Jewish 
ceremonial,  abolished  by  the  advent  of  the  Saviour. 
Those  who  deny  the  lawfulness,  under  the  gospel  dis- 
pensation, of  religious  oaths,  taken  with  a  view  to 
ascertain  and  establish  truth,  ground  their  principal 
objections  on  two  passages  of  Scripture,  of  which  the 
second  is  nearly  a  transcript  of  the  first.  Consult 
them  for  yourselves,  in  Matt.  v.  33 — 37;  and  James 
V.  12.  But  nothing  is  more  evident  than  that  the  Sa- 
viour (whom  his  apostle  appears  to  quote)  when  he 
says,  "Swear  not  at  all,"  &c.  speaks  of  profane  swear- 
ing, in  common  conversation.  This  is  manifest  from 
the  passage  itself,  in  which  a  number  of  profane  col- 
loquial oaths,  known  to  have  been  frequent  among 
the  Jews  at  that  time,  are  distinctly  specified;  and  in 
which  the  term  "communication,"  {xoyoi)  coiiversa- 
tion  or  speech,  is  expressly  mentioned.  Now  to  ap- 
ply what  is  spoken  of  one  subject,  to  another  of  totally 
a  different  kind  and  character,  is  a  gross  violation  of 
all  the  laws  of  propriety  and  just  construction  of  lan- 
guage; and  if  adopted,  not  only  might  the  Scriptures, 

*  Witherspoon. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  87 

but  every  other  kind  of  writing,  be  entirely  perverted, 
and  be  made  to  say  something  directly  opposite  to 
their  true  intention  and  design.  We  are  not  forbidden 
then,  but  in  duty  required,  to  take  an  oath,  accompa- 
nied with  rehgious  solemnities,  when  called  to  it  by 
the  civil  magistrate,  or  by  an  officer  duly  authorized, 
in  ecclesiastical  courts.    *'  The  oath  has  been  adopted 
by  all  nations  in  their  administration  of  justice,  in  or- 
der to  discover  truth.     The  most  common  and  uni- 
versal application  of  it  has  been  to  add  greater  solem- 
nity to  the  testimony  of  witnesses.     It  is  also  some- 
times made  use  of  with  the  parties  themselves,  for 
conviction  or  purgation.     The  laws  of  every  country 
point  out  the  cases  in  which  oaths  are  required  or  ad- 
mitted in  public  judgment.  It  is  however  lawful,  and 
in  common  practice,  for  private  persons,  voluntarily, 
on  solemn  occasions,  to  confirm  what  they  say  by  an 
oath.     Persons   entering   on  public  offices  are   also 
often  obliged  to  make  oath,  that  they  will  faithfully 
execute  their  trust.  Oaths  are  commonly  divided  into 
two  kinds,  assertory  and  promissory — those  called 
purgatory  fall  under  the  first  of  these  divisions."*    I 
cannot  here  forbear  to  mention,  that  in  Britain  and 
the  United  States,  there  has  been   a  multiplication 
of  oaths,  demanded  by  the  laws  of  these  countries, 
which  the  best  moralists  consider  as  of  a  most  un- 
happy tendency.     The  frequency  of  an  act  is  always 
apt  to  diminish  its  solemnity,  and  an  oath,  from  its 
very  nature,  ought  not  to  be  required,  except  on  im- 
portant occasions.     Innumerable  perjuries,  it  is  be- 
lieved, have  been  the  consequence  of  the  multiplica- 
tion of  oaths,  especially  of  those  exacted  in  the  col- 
lection of  the  revenue  of  the  country.    The  hasty  and 
irreverent  manner  in  which  oaths  are  too  often  ad- 
ministered, is  always  calculated  to  produce  the  same 
evil. 

It  appears  from  Scripture  that  there  have  been  va- 
rious forms  made  use  of  in  the  administration  of  an 
oath.  Jacob  and  Laban,  at  parting,  ate  together  on 
a  heap  of  stones,  and  erected  a  pillar  as  a  memorial  of 

*  Witherspoon. 


88  LECTURES     ON     THE 

perpetual  peace  and  friendship,  and  then  sware  by  the 
God  ot'  Abraham  and  Nahor,  and  the  fear  of  Isaac, 
that  they  would  not  injure  each  other.  Abraham,  in 
exacting  an  oath  of  his  servant,  in  regard  to  taking  a 
wife  for  his  son  Isaac,  made  the  servant  swear,  by 
putting  his  hand  under  his  master's  thigh.  It  would 
seem,  therefore,  that  the  form  of  administering  an 
oath  is  not  essential,  and  may  be  varied.  Yet,  as  the 
highest  examples  recorded  in  the  sacred  volume  to 
prove  the  lawfuhiess  of  taking  a  solemn  oath,  do  at 
the  same  time  show  in  what  form  and  manner  the 
parties  swore,  we  surely  shall  act  wisely  and  safely, 
in  following  their  example.  "  I  have  lifted  up  my 
hand  unto  the  Lord,  the  most  high  God,  the  possessor 
of  heaven  and  earth,"  was  the  language  used  by 
Abraham  to  the  king  of  Sodom,  in  stating  in  what 
manner  he  had  sworn,  not  to  receive  any  part  of  the 
spoil  which  was  taken  from  the  kings  they  had  van- 
quished. In  like  manner,  the  angel  whom  John  saw 
in  vision,  standing  on  the  sea  and  upon  the  earth, 
"  lifted  up  his  hand  to  heaven,  and  sware  by  him  that 
liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  that  there  should  be  time  no 
longer."  Nay,  the  ever  blessed  God  himself,  is  said 
to  have  sworn  in  this  manner.  He  is  represented 
(Deut.  xxxii.  40)  as  saying — "'  I  lift  up  my  hand  to 
heaven,  and  say  I  live  for  ever."  This  indeed  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  usual  form  of  taking  an  oath 
in  ancient  times.  The  custom  of  swearing  on  the 
Bible,  and  of  afterwards  kissing  it,  is  certainly  an  imi- 
tation of  the  heathen  practice  of  kissing  their  idols, 
and  came  to  us  through  the  Romish  church.  It  is  not 
required  by  law  in  this  country,  and  my  advice  to  you 
is  never  to  comply  with  it;  but  in  taking  an  oath  to 
adhere  strictly  to  the  Scriptural  example  of  doing  it, 
by  solemnly  lifting  up  the  hand. 

A  formal  religious  vow  is  "  a  solemn  promise,  made 
to  God,  in  which  we  bind  ourselves  to  do,  or  to  for- 
bear, somewhat,  for  the  promoting  of  his  glory."* 
Hence  the  sacraments  of  the  New  Testament  partake 
of  the  nature  of  vows,  inasmuch  as  they  are  seals  of 

*  Buck's  Theological  Dictionary. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  89 

covenant  engagements,  or  promises  made  to  God.  In 
prayer,  also,  such  promises  and  engagements  are  fre- 
quently made,  and  on  tiiis  account  prayers  are  some- 
times called  vows.  But  a  formal  vow  is  a  separate 
and  distinct  act,  in  relation  to  some  specific  object. 
Such  vows  were  common  under  the  Mosaic  dispen- 
sation, and  particular  rules  were  given  in  relation  to 
their  being  made  and  fulfilled.  Num.  xxx.  et  alib. 
There  is  no  particular  command,  in  regard  to  these 
special  vows,  in  the  New  Testament;  audit  certainly 
is  not  the  genius  of  the  Christian  dispensation  to  en- 
courage their  frequent,  much  less  their  hasty  or  rash 
formation.  It  appears,  indeed,  that  the  apostle  Paul 
was  once  under  the  obligation  of  a  special  vow,  and 
that  he  joined  with  four  other  individuals,  who  be- 
longed to  the  Christian  church  at  Jerusalem,  in  the 
observance  of  the  Mosaic  ritual,  relative  to  persons  in 
their  circumstances.  All  these  men,  however,  were 
Jews,  who  in  the  first  age  of  the  Christian  church, 
were  allowed  to  retain  certain  observances  of  the  pre- 
ceding economy,  not  inconsistent  with  gospel  princi- 
ples. Paul,  it  appears,  was  persuaded  by  his  brethren 
to  join  in  these  observances,  and  hence  it  is  probable 
that  his  first  intention  was  not  to  have  done  it.  Some 
of  the  best  commentators  think  that  his  compliance 
on  this  occasion  was  wrong;  and  the  issue  was  cer- 
tainly disastrous.  On  the  whole,  the  gospel,  without 
encouraging  a  frequent  resort  to  special  vows,  does 
not  forbid  them,  and  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles, 
in  one  instance,  did  make  a  special  vow.  There  may 
be  cases,  therefore,  in  which  they  are  not  sinful,  but 
expedient.  Yet  the  cases  are  not  numerous,  and  no 
person  ought  to  make  such  a  vow  but  on  serious, 
mature,  and  prayerful  deliberation.  The  object  of 
the  vow  ought  to  be  clearly  lawful,  and  when  made, 
the  obligation  to  performance  should  be  regarded  as 
most  sacred,  unless  some  providential  dispensation 
renders  it  utterly  impracticable,  or  clearly  inexpedi- 
ent. Those  who  in  sickness,  or  in  other  imminent 
peril,  make  vows  and  promises  to  devote  their  lives 
to  God,  if  he  shall  spare  them,  are  certainly  and  sa- 

VOL.  II. —  7 


90  LECTURES     ON     THE 

credly  bound  to  the  performance  of  what  they  thus 
engage.  In  the  Romish  church,  however,  the  three 
vows  which  are  made  to  constitute  an  individual 
what  they  denominate  a  religious — the  vows  of  po- 
verty, celibacy,  and  obedience — are  without  the  sha- 
dow of  authority  from  the  sacred  Scripture.  They 
are  indeed  characteristics  of  the  "  man  of  sin,"  and 
are  not  binding  on  any  one,  after  he  is  enhghtened  to 
see  the  truth,  and  becomes  convinced  that  these  vows 
ought  never  to  have  been  made. 

Of  lots,  I  cannot  speak  at  length,  although  volumes 
have  been  written  on  their  nature  and  use.  My  own 
opinions,  on  this  subject,  coincide  very  much  with 
those  expressed  by  Ridgley  in  his  "Body  of  Divi- 
nity;" and  as  what  he  says  is  very  summarily  ex- 
pressed, I  shall  give  it  to  you  in  his  own  words. 
"  When  lots  were  an  ordinance,  by  which  God  in  an 
extraordinary  manner  determined  things  that  were 
before  unknown,  (they  being  an  instituted  means  of 
appealing  to  him  for  that  end,  as  in  the  case  of  Achan, 
and  others,)  then  lots  were  not  to  be  used  in  a  com- 
mon way,  for  that  would  have  been  a  profaning  a  sa- 
cred institution.  But  since  this  extraordinary  ordi- 
nance is  now  ceased,  it  does  not  seem  unlawful,  so  as 
to  be  an  instance  of  profaneness,  to  make  use  of  lots 
in  civil  matters;  provided  we  do  not  consider  them 
as  an  ordinance  which  God  has  appointed,  in  which 
we  think  we  have  ground  to  expect  his  immediate 
interposure,  and  to  depend  upon  it  as  though  it  were 
a  divine  oracle.  In  this  view  it  would  be  unlawful, 
at  present,  to  use  lots  in  any  respect  whatsoever." 

As  to  those  that  are  denominated  games  of  chance, 
such  as  cards,  dice,  and  all  lotteries  for  money,  I  hold 
them  to  be  unlawful;  and  I  exhort  you  to  renounce 
and  avoid  them  altogether.  If  there  were  no  other 
objection  to  these  games,  than  the  infatuating  influ- 
ence which  all  experience  shows  they  have  on  the 
mind,  and  the  portion  of  precious  time  which  is  wast- 
ed by  all  who  become  addicted  to  them,  this  would  of 
itself  be  a  sufticient  reason,  why  a  prudent  and  con- 
scientious person  should  have  no  concern  with  them. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM, 


91 


But  there  are  other  and  weighty  considerations,  why 
you  should  altogether  abstain  from  them.  They  are 
not  only  of  bad  report  with  all  serious  Christians,  but 
to  gain  money,  or  to  lose  it,  in  the  use  of  these  games, 
appears  to  be  morally  wrong.  The  successful  game- 
ster sometimes  obtains  property  to  a  large  amount, 
in  a  few  hours,  without  either  labour  or  skill;  and 
this  amount  is  lost  with  equal  rapidity  by  others,  to 
their  great  inconvenience,  and  sometimes  to  their  ut- 
ter ruin.  The  atrocious  crimes  of  theft,  highway  rob- 
bery, and  even  suicide  itself,  have  often  been  the  bit- 
ter fruits  of  gambling.  Surely,  every  person  who  is 
not  lost  to  all  moral  sensibility,  must  desire  and  re- 
solve to  have  nothing  to  do  with  practices  which  may 
lead  to  such  fearful  consequences.  Games  of  chance 
are  found,  in  experience,  to  be  more  enticing  and  per- 
nicious than  games  of  skill;  and  the  reason  probably 
is,  that  the  former  may  be  indulged  in,  with  little 
mental  talent  or  exertion;  whereas  the  latter  require 
an  exercise  of  mind  and  ingenuity,  which  gamblers 
dislike,  and  of  which  the  most  of  them  are  incapable. 
Another  reason  may  be,  the  speed  with  which,  in 
games  of  chance,  a  decision  is  made,  in  regard  to  the 
stake  at  issue.  But  games  of  skill,  when  money  is 
played  for,  as  it  sometimes  is,  are  to  be  condemned 
equally  with  games  of  hazard;  and  indeed  a  fondness 
for  them,  simply  as  a  matter  of  amusement,  often 
leads  to  such  a  mis-spending  of  time,  as  a  truly  consci- 
entious person  will  by  no  means  consider  innocent. 

3.  The  name  of  God,  and  all  his  titles,  attributes, 
and  ordinances,  are  to  be  used  with  holy  reverence; 
and  this  feeling  or  sentiment  is  to  be  preserved  and 
cherished,  even  in  contemplating  his  works  of  crea- 
tion and  providence.  Deep  and  habitual  reverence 
for  every  thing  connected  with  the  honour  and  glory 
of  God,  is  a  discriminating  mark  of  a  truly  devout 
and  pious  mind.  On  such  a  mind,  there  ever  is  and 
must  be,  such  a  strong  impression,  at  once  of  the 
transcendent  majesty,  and  the  infinite  excellence  and 
amiableness  of  the  Lord  Jehovah,  that  every  thing 
by  which  he  manifests  himself  will  be  regarded  with 


92 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


a  mixture  of  awe  and  love.  These  are,  as  it  were, 
the  signatures  which  mark  the  feehngs  and  exercises 
of  all  good  beings,  whether  angels  or  men.  See  a  re- 
markable instance  of  this,  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the 
prophecy  of  Isaiah.  How  strikingly,  also,  were  these 
sentiments  exemplified  by  Abraham,  in  the  whole  of 
his  plea  for  guilty  Sodom — increasing  in  intensity  as 
he  proceeded  in  his  intercession — "Behold  now  I 
have  taken  upon  me  to  speak  unto  the  Lord,  which 
am  but  dust  and  aslies.  Oh  let  not  the  Lord  be  an- 
gry, and  I  will  speak.  Oh  let  not  the  Lord  be  angry, 
and  I  will  speak  yet  but  this  once."  What  a  con- 
trast between  the  spirit  and  the  language  here  exhi- 
bited, and  the  style  and  manner  of  address  we  too 
often  hear  in  prayer!  But  profound  reverence  for 
the  Supreme  Being  is  not  peculiar  to  uninspired  men. 
It  characterizes,  as  yon  have  heard,  all  good  men; 
and  may,  indeed,  be  considered  as  a  kind  of  measure, 
to  ascertain  the  degree  of  their  goodness.  The  emi- 
nently enlightened  and  pious  Robert  Boyle,  is  report- 
ed to  have  been  in  the  habit  of  always  making  a 
pause,  both  before  and  after  he  pronounced  the  aw- 
ful name  of  God. 

Cultivate,  my  young  friends,  this  deep  reverential 
regard  for  all  that  is  sacred.  Never  use  the  name  of 
God  with  levity,  and  rarely  in  common  conversation. 
Never  mention  his  titles  or  attributes  but  with  solem- 
nity. Never  read  his  holy  word,  nor  even  open  the 
sacred  volume,  in  a  hasty  and  careless  manner.  Ne- 
ver attend  on  his  ordinances  but  with  recollected 
thought,  and  a  truly  devout  spirit.  Oh  there  is  much 
profaneness — shocking  profaneness — in  the  professed 
worship  of  God,  in  the  very  service  in  which  we  pro- 
fess to  honour  him. 

Nor  should  the  works  of  God  be  contemplated, 
without  seeing  in  them  the  wisdom,  power,  and  good- 
ness of  their  great  Author.  "The  heavens  declare 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament  showeth  his 
handy  work.  Day  unto  day  utlereth  speech,  and 
night  unto  night  showeth  knowledge.  There  is  no 
speech  nor  language  where  their  voice  is  not  heard." 


SHORTER     CATECHISM. 


93 


The  19th  Psahn,  from  which  these  words  are  taken, 
presents  us  with  an  inimitable  meditation  on  both 
the  works  and  the  word  of  God,  and  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  devout  mind  of  the  Psalmist  passed  from 
the  one  to  the  other,  and  concluded  both  with  solemn 
reflection  and  earnest  prayer.  The  104th  Psalm  is  a 
composition  of  unrivalled  sublimity  on  the  works  of 
God,  both  in  creation  and  providence.  To  "  look 
through  nature  up  to  nature's  God,"  should  be  the 
frequent  exercise,  not  only  of  the  philosopher,  but  of 
every  ordinary  Christian.  Yet  it  is  an  exercise  too 
much  neglected  by  Christians  in  general.  Doubtless 
the  great  work  of  redemption  transcends  in  glory, 
every  other  display  of  the  Divine  attributes.  Yet  all 
the  works  of  God  should  lead  us  to  admire,  love,  and 
praise  him;  they  every  where  strike  our  senses,  and 
he  who,  in  surveying  them,  habitually  cherishes  a 
devout  train  of  thought,  such  as  that  of  which  the 
pious  Mr.  Hervey  has  given  us  some  excellent  speci- 
mens, will  have  in  himself  a  source  of  the  purest  and 
most  sublime  pleasure,  and  will  also  be  constantly 
making  advances  in  the  divine  life.  In  such  a  life 
may  we  all  advance,  till  it  shall  be  perfected  in  the 
immediate  vision  and  full  fruition  of  God  our  Savi- 
our.    Amen. 


94 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


LECTURE  XLI. 


In  the  present  lecture  I  am  to  show,  agreeably  to  the 
statement  of  the  Catechism,  that  "  the  third  command- 
ment forbiddethall  profaning  or  abusing  of  any  thing 
whereby  God  maketh  himself  known." 

We  have  already  seen  that  God  makes  himself 
known  by  his  names,  titles,  attributes,  ordinances, 
words,  and  works;  and  a  brief  notice  has  been  taken 
of  the  reverent  manner  in  which  all  these  are  to  be 
treated  or  used.  Without,  therefore,  referring  to  them 
in  order,  I  shall  specify  a  variety  of  ways  in  which, 
either  singly  or  conjointly,  they  may  be  abused  or 
profaned. 

1.  Blasphemy  is  a  species  of  profaneness  of  the 
most  heinous  and  awful  kind.  It  properly  consists 
in  speaking  directly  against  God.  This  is  the  sin 
of  devils,  and  of  those  lost  and  hopeless  spirits  of  our 
race,  who  are  shut  up  in  the  prison  of  despair.  But, 
alas!  although  blasphemy  is  the  language  of  hell,  it 
is  sometimes  heard  on  earth.  It  is  indeed  so  contrary 
to  reason,  as  well  as  to  every  sentiment  of  religion, 
that  some  have  thought  it  ought  always  to  be  consid- 
ered and  treated  as  a  species  of  insanity.  Under  the 
Mosaic  dispensation,  it  was  punished  with  death,  and 
the  same  penalty  has  been  awarded  to  it,  by  the  laws 
of  several  Christian  nations.  And  still,  in  most  coun- 
tries, it  exposes  the  blasphemer  to  some  civil  punish- 
ment, but  not  to  death — its  full  retribution  being  left 
to  that  Infinite  Being,  whom  it  madly  presumes  to 
insult.  But  every  approach  to  this  tremendous  crime 
ought  to  be  feared,  more  than  any  form  of  temporal 
death.  Therefore  regard  with  horror  all  language, 
and  even  the  indulgence  and  approbation  of  all 
thoughts,*  of  an  atheistical  kind,  or  that  directly  or 

*  For  the  manner  in  which  involuntary  blasphemous  thoughts  or 
imaginations  are  to  be  regarded,  see  Lecture  xxxi. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  95 

impliedly  go  to  execrate,  reproach,  revile,  or  dispa- 
rage the  Majesty  of  heaven  and  earth,  or  any  of  his 
attributes,  words,  or  dispensations. 

2.  Perjury^  or  the  violation  of  a  solemn  oath  or  vow, 
is  another  example  of  highly  aggravated  profaneness. 
What,  indeed,  can  be  more  dreadful,  than  for  a  moral 
and  accountable  being  to  imprecate  the  divine  judg- 
ments on  himself?  which  is  done  by  every  person  who 
takes  a  false  oath?  We  accordingly  find  such  persons 
classed,  by  the  apostle,  (1  Tim.  i.  10,)  with  the  per- 
petrators of  crimes  of  the  deepest  die  and  the  greatest 
infamy.  It  is  the  tendency  of  perjury,  also,  to  break 
asunder  the  bonds  of  society,  which  oaths  are  intend- 
ed to  secure  and  strengthen;  so  that,  in  every  view, 
the  guilt  which  perjury  involves  is  of  the  most  atro- 
cious character.  This  crime  is  committed  when  per- 
sons assert,  on  oath,  what  they  know  to  be  false;  or 
promise  or  engage  what  they  have  no  serious  intention 
to  perform ;  or  what  they  know,  or  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve, it  will  be  impossible  for  them  to  perform;  or 
when  they  solemnly  pledge  themselves  (as  Herod  did 
to  the  daughter  of  Herodias)  to  do  that  which  is  in  itself 
unlawful.  An  unlawful  oath  is  indeed  not  binding, 
and  ought  by  no  means  to  be  kept ;  yet  the  criminality 
of  having  taken  such  an  oath  will  not  be  entirely  done 
away,  by  a  refusal  to  fulfil  it.  Oaths  ought  to  be 
taken  with  great  seriousness  and  deliberation;  but  the 
imperfections  of  memory  and  knowledge  are  always 
supposed,  and,  therefore,  errors  arising  simply  from 
these  causes,  do  not  involve  guilt.  In  official  oaths 
likewise,  a  faithful  endeavour  to  discharge  duty  is 
all  that  is  required;  and  of  course  the  common  infir- 
mities of  our  nature  do  not  violate  the  obligation  in- 
curred. Whatever  renders  the  fulfilment  of  an  oath 
utterly  impracticable,  if  it  do  not  proceed  from  the 
fault  of  him  who  has  taken  the  oath,  leaves  him  with- 
out guilt  in  the  non-performance.  But  there  are  some 
things,  especially  in  matters  of  property,  to  which  men 
ought  not  to  have  pledged  themselves,  which  they 
are  nevertheless  bound  to  perform,  after  the  pledge 
has  been  given.     A  good  man,  as  characterized  by 


96  LECTURES     ON      THE 

the  Psalmist,  "  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt,  and  chang- 
eth  not." 

No  allowance  is,  or  ever  ought  to  be  made,  in  the 
taking  of  an  oath,  for  any  mental  reservation,  or  any- 
equivocal  meaning  of  language.  The  oath  is  binding 
in  the  plain  and  full  sense  of  the  words  that  are  used, 
and  as  they  are  understood  by  the  administrator  of 
the  oath,  at  the  time  it  is  administered.  Nor  will  it 
avail  to  plead  that  the  oath  was  taken  by  compulsion. 
We  ought  rather  to  resist  unto  blood,  than  to  take  an 
oath  to  do  that  which  is  morally  wrong;  and  if  per- 
formance can  follow  a  compulsory  oath  without  moral 
guilt,  it  ought  to  follow,  whatever  expense  or  incon- 
venience it  may  cost.  We  must  consider  ourselves 
as  having  chosen  this,  rather  than  the  consequences 
of  refusing  the  compulsory  oath. 

3.  Sinful  cursing,  or  the  invoking  of  the  vengeance 
of  God,  or  other  fearful  evils,  either  on  ourselves  or 
others,  is  a  most  heinous  breach  of  the  third  com- 
mandment. "  They  who  curse  themselves,  do  in  effect 
pray  that  God  would  hasten  their  everlasting  destruc- 
tion; as  though  their  damnation  slumbered,  or  as  if  it 
were  a  thing  to  be  wished  for — and  to  curse  others  is 
to  put  up  a  profane  wicked  prayer  to  God,  which  is 
the  highest  affront  to  him;  as  though  the  vials  of  his 
wrath  were  to  be  emptied  on  men  when  they  pleased, 
to  satisfy  their  passionate  revenge  against  them.  This 
also  includes  in  it  a  vile  instance  of  uncharitableness 
towards  those  whom  we  are  commanded  to  love  as 
ourselves:  and  how  contrary  is  it  to  that  golden  rule 
laid  down  by  our  Saviour,  '  All  things  whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to 
them.'"* 

4.  Swearing  profanely  in  common  conversation, 
is  a  transgression  of  the  divine  precept  now  under 
consideration,  which  perhaps  more  frequently  occurs 
than  any  other.  The  shocking  language  of  this  kind 
which  is  sometimes  heard  from  those  who  allow  them- 
selves in  its  use,  especially  when  they  are  under  the 

*  Ridgley. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  97 

influence  of  their  angry  passions,  as  they  often  are,  is 
scarcely,  if  at  all,  less  than  downright  blasphemy.  But 
many  who  never  go  to  this  extreme, and  who  even  con- 
demn and  reprove  those  that  do,  scruple  not  to  swear 
by  the  name  of  God,  on  the  most  ordinary  occasions, 
and  with  the  greatest  frequency.  Others,  who  seldom 
proceed  as  far  as  this,  still  do  not  hesitate  to  use  the 
name  of  their  Maker  in  colloquial  discourse,  without 
concern,  and  even  with  the  greatest  levity.  Others 
again,  swear  by  heathen  deities,  and  by  creatures  of 
various  kinds — by  heaven,  by  their  soul,  their  life, 
their  conscience,  their  faith,  or  their  troth.  Some 
make  use  of  minced  oaths,  or  single  terms  of  profane 
import,  and  seem  to  think  that  they  thus  avoid  the 
sin  prohibited  in  the  command  before  us.  But,  my 
young  friends,  not  one  of  these  practices  is  without 
sin  before  God;  although  we  readily  admit  that  some 
of  them  involve  a  far  greater  and  more  awful  amount 
of  guilt  than  others.  Every  one  of  them,  however, 
is  in  manifest  violation  of  the  explicit  command  of 
our  Saviour:  "  I  say  unto  you,  swear  not  at  all; 
neither  by  heaven,  for  it  is  God's  throne;  neither  by 
Jerusalem,  for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  king:  Neither 
shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head,  because  thou  canst  not 
make  one  hair  white  or  black:  But  let  your  commu- 
nication be,  Yea,  yea;  Nay,  nay;  for  whatsoever  is 
MORE  than  these,  comcth  of  evil." 

Profane  swearing,  like  most  other  vices,  seldom 
fails  to  proceed  from  bad  to  worse.  He  who  begins 
with  minced  oaths,  has  reason  to  fear  that  he  may  go 
on  to  blasphemy  or  perjury.  There  is  indeed  little 
doubt,  that  the  lamentable  prevalence  of  perjury  is, 
in  a  great  measure,  to  be  attributed  to  the  loss  of 
reverence  for  a  solemn  oath,  occasioned  by  the  mul- 
titude of  profane  oaths  which  the  guilty  parties  have 
been  accustomed  to  use,  and  the  criminality  of  which 
they  have  never  considered. 

Those  who  indulge  in  profane  language,  in  their 
common  conversation,  often  deny,  or  at  least  attempt 
to  palliate  its  criminality,  by  affirming  that  they  in- 
tend no  evil.     It  is,  however,  undeniable,  that  the 


98 


LECTURES      ON     THE 


use  of  this  language  always  proceeds  from  the  want 
of  reverence  for  God  and  sacred  things;  since  the  in- 
variable effect  produced  on  the  mind  of  a  profane 
man,  who  believes  that  death  is  near  and  that  judg- 
ment will  follow,  is  to  make  him  forbear  his  profane- 
ness.  Now,  reverence  for  God  lies  at  the  very  foun- 
dation of  all  religion;  and  it  also  affords  the  most 
weighty  sanction  to  all  moral  obhgation.  Profane- 
ness,  therefore,  strikes  at  the  very  vitals  of  the  duty 
which  we  owe  both  to  God  and  man,  and  conse- 
quently is  a  sin  of  the  most  heinous  kind.  Its  guilt, 
moreover,  is  aggravated  by  the  consideration  that  it 
is  attended  by  neither  profit  nor  pleasure;  for  there 
is  no  pretence  more  groundless  than  that  which  is 
sometimes  heard,  that  it  serves  to  produce  a  convic- 
tion that  he  who  uses  it  is  much  in  earnest.  He,  in- 
deed, who  always  swears  when  he  is  in  earnest,  will 
not  be  believed  to  be  in  earnest  when  he  does  not 
swear.  But  let  it  be  known  that  he  never  swears,  and 
he  may  indicate  his  earnestness,  far  more  effectually 
without  an  oath  than  with  it.  On  the  whole,  profane 
language  is  not  only  a  grievous  sin  against  God,  but 
shocking  to  every  pious  ear;  it  lessens  the  dignity 
and  influence  of  all  who  use  it,  and  renders  their 
company  less  welcome  than  it  would  otherwise  be  to 
all  good  men;  it  is  an  evil,  to  which  there  is  proba- 
bly less  temptation  than  to  almost  any  other;  and 
therefore  every  consideration,  both  of  duty  and  in- 
terest, should  induce  all  who  have  indulged  in  it,  to 
"  break  off  their  sin  by  repentance"  without  delay; 
and  all  who  have  hitherto  avoided  it,  to  shun  every 
form  of  expression,  that  has  the  most  distant  alliance 
to  this  inexcusable  and  odious  vice. 

5.  "God  maketh  himself  known"  in  his  ordinances, 
his  word,  and  his  works  both  of  creation  and  provi- 
dence; and  the  "profaning  or  abusing"  of  these,  is  a 
real  violation  of  the  third  commandment,  and  should 
be  considered  as  being  forbidden  by  it,  as  truly  and 
strictly,  as  any  one  of  the  profane  acts  already  spe- 
cified. I  know  not  of  a  more  shocking  violation  of 
this  precept,  than  one  which  has  sometimes  taken 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  99 

place  even  in  a  Christian  community,  the  making  of 
a  ludicrous  exhibition  of  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Nor  is  the  use  of  this  ordinance  merely  for 
secular  purposes,  or  in  any  careless,  light,  irreverent, 
or  even  formal  manner,  other  tlian  an  instance  of 
awful  profaneness.  Laughing,  whispering,  and  all 
behaviour  indicative  of  disrespect  or  disregard  to  the 
public  or  social  worship  of  God,  by  those  who  are  at- 
tending on  its  performance,  is,  in  like  manner,  dread- 
fully profane.  Yea,  the  indulgence  of  wandering 
thoughts  in  prayer  or  praise,  whether  social  or  secret, 
must  be  considered  as  partaking  of  the  sin  forbidden 
in  this  commandment.  Neither  must  I  omit  to  men- 
tion, that  every  false  professor  of  religion,  especially  if 
he  knows  himself  to  be  such,  leads  a  life  of  habitual 
profaneness;  and  that  he  who  dishonours  his  profes- 
sion by  acts  palpably  inconsistent  with  it,  is,  in  every 
one  of  these  acts,  chargeable  with  the  sin  we  are  now 
considering. 

Our  Larger  Catechism  justly  states  that  the  Word 
of  God  is  profaned  and  abused,  "  By  misinterpreting, 
misapplying,  or  perverting  any  part  of  it,  to  profane 
jests,  curious  and  unprofitable  questions,  vain  jang- 
ling, or  the  maintaining  of  false  doctrines;  abusing  it, 
or  any  thing  contained  under  the  name  of  God,  to 
charms,  or  any  way  opposing  God's  truth,  grace,  and 
ways."  I  cannot  forbear  to  remark  to  you,  my  dear 
youth,  that  there  is  much  of  this  profaning  of  the 
word  of  God,  in  some  poetical  and  other  writings;  and 
in  the  conversation  of  some  men  from  whom  we 
might  expect  better  things,  by  making  allusions  to 
facts  or  texts  of  sacred  Scripture,  to  illustrate  ordinary 
and  sometimes  very  trival  subjects.  The  political 
speakers  and  writers  of  our  country,  seem  to  me  to 
be  peculiarly  chargeable  with  this  sin;  and  they  not 
unfrequently  manifest  their  ignorance,  as  well  as  their 
guilt,  by  affecting  to  be  acquainted  with  the  purport 
of  a  text  or  a  fact,  of  which  they  discover  that  they 
know  nothing,  but  some  popular  mistake  or  misap- 
plication. Those  who  are  fond  of  seizing  every  oc- 
casion that  offers  to  show  their  wit,  as  they  suppose, 


1 00  LECTURES      ON    THE 

by  some  ludicrous  application  of  a  passage  of  Holy 
Writ,  would  do  well  to  remember  a  remark  of  Dr. 
Johnson,  in  his  life  of  Pope,  of  whom  he  says,  "  That 
he  was  not  scrupulously  pious  in  some  parts  of  his 
life  is  known,  by  many  idle  and  indecent  applica- 
tions of  sentences  taken  from  the  Scriptures;  a  mode 
of  merriment  which  a  good  man  dreads  for  its  pro- 
faneness,  and  a  witty  man  disdains  for  its  easiness 
and  vulgarity." 

The  works  of  God  may  be,  and  often  are  so  abused, 
by  employing  them  to  pamper  lust  and  sensual  ap- 
petite, and  to  minister  to  unlawful  pleasures,  as  to 
involve  the  sin  of  profaneness.  The  glutton  and  the 
drunkard,  and  those  who  in  any  way  abuse  their 
own  bodies  by  their  vices;  those  who  make  sport  by 
tormenting  irrational  animals,  or  who  treat  them 
cruelly  in  making  use  of  their  labour;  and  those  es- 
pecially who  sell,  and  purchase,  and  enslave  their 
fellow  men,  dishonour  and  insult  their  Creator,  by 
their  ill  treatment  of  his  creatures.  Those  also  who 
murmur  and  repine  against  any  of  the  dispensations 
of  God's  providence,  whether  personal  or  in  relation 
to  communities,  and  however  afflictive  or  inscruta- 
ble they  may  be,  do  implicitly  and  profanely  find 
fault  with  their  Maker.  How  often,  in  so  common 
a  thing  as  the  state  of  the  weather,  ^o  you  hear  some 
persons  speak  of  it,  in  a  manner  plainly  indicative  of 
a  murmuring  discontent?  This  is  profane.  It  is  find- 
ing fault  with  the  order  of  God's  providence,  which 
is  always  just  and  right.  Under  any  disappointment 
or  affliction  indeed,  we  are  not  forbidden,  but  rather 
required,  to  recognize  and  be  sensible  of  a  suffering 
state;  but  we  are,  in  all  cases,  to  do  it  with  humble 
submission  to  the  appointment  of  Him  who  does  all 
things  well;  and  never,  in  language,  thought  or  feel- 
ing, to  arraign  any  of  his  dispensations  or  allotments. 

Let  us  now  consider  "the  reason  annexed  to  the 
third  commandment,"  which  is,  "That  however  the 
breakers  of  this  commandment  may  escape  punish- 
ment from  men,  yet  the  Lord  our  God  will  not  suffer 
them  to  escape  his  righteous  judgment." 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  101 

The  statement  which  you  have  heard  in  the  for- 
mer part  of  this  lecture,  shows  clearly  that  very  many 
of  the  violations  of  this  commandment  cannot  be 
punished  by  men,  because  men  cannot  know  them. 
They  are  known  only  by  the  guilty  party,  and  by 
the  all-seeing  God.  Other  violations  there  are,  which, 
although  known  to  men,  cannot  easily,  nor  perhaps 
properly,  be  subjected  to  human  penalties.  And 
many  there  certainly  are,  which  might  be  punished, 
and  for  the  punishment  of  v/hich  human  laws  have 
been  enacted,  which  nevertheless,  through  the  delin- 
quency of  magistrates,  and  the  influence  of  corrupt 
public  sentiment,  go  altogether  unpunished.  There 
is  no  vice,  I  think,  that  is  so  generally  tolerated,  and 
so  little  punished,  as  that  of  profaneness;  partly,  as  I 
have  just  remarked,  from  its  very  nature,  and  partly 
because  so  many  are  either  grossly  guilty  of  it  them- 
selves, or  too  little  sensible  of  its  guilt  in  others,  and 
of  the  off'ence  which  it  offers  to  that  great  and  good 
Being,  against  whom  it  is  directly  pointed.  In  fore- 
sight of  these  facts  and  circumstances,  the  great  and 
all-wise  Legislator  has  sanctioned  this  section  of  his 
moral  code,  by  declaring  that  he  will,  in  an  especial 
manner,  take  into  his  own  hands  the  infliction  of  the 
proper  penalty,  even  "his  righteous  judgment,"  on 
all  its  transgressors;  and  has  pledged  his  veracity  and 
his  omnipotence  that  "  they  shall  not  escape."  Verily, 
this  is  the  most  fearful  of  all  sanctions  or  commina- 
tions:  and  yet  its  equity  is  manifest,  since  the  sin 
which  is  threatened  is  committed  immediately  against 
God,  and  receives  its  whole  punishment  from  him 
alone.  In  itself,  also,  it  is  a  very  aggravated  sin, 
especially  when  committed  by  those  who  enjoy  the 
light  of  Divine  revelation,  by  which  the  glorious 
Majesty,  as  well  as  the  infinite  goodness  and  mercy 
of  God  are  clearly  exhibited.  This  idea  appears  to 
be  intimated  in  the  precept,  by  the  words,  "  the  name 
of  the  Lord  (in  the  original,  Jehovah)  thy  God;" 
implying  that  those  who  were  addressed,  were  not  in 
a  state  of  ignorance,  like  the  heathen,  but  were 
acquainted  with  the  essential  glory  and  excellence  of 


102  LECTURES     ON     THE 

the  Supreme  Being,  as  revealed  to  them  in  the  very 
name  Jehovah;  implyingalso,that  Jehovah  had  mani- 
fested himself  to  them,  as  in  a  special  sense  their  God, 
their  covenant  God,  laying  them  under  the  strongest 
obligations  to  a  holy  and  reverent  use  of  his  name. 

You  need  not  be  informed,  my  young  friends,  that 
we  who  live  under  the  light  of  the  gospel,  by  being 
better  acquainted  than  the  ancient  Israelites  were, 
with  the  grace  and  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  are  under 
even  stronger  and  more  tender  obligations  than  they 
were,  to  yield  him  our  profoundest  reverence  and 
warmest  love.  The  sin,  therefore,  of  treating  him 
with  disrespect,  and  with  a  sort  of  defiance,  by  taking 
his  name  in  vain,  must,  among  us,  be  peculiarly  ag- 
gravated. "  Thine  enemies  take  thy  name  in  vain," 
says  the  Psalmist.  All  profaneness  manifests  enmity 
to  the  blessed  God,  of  whose  holy  law  it  is  a  flagrant 
transgression:  and  as  sure  as  there  is  a  judgment 
seat  before  which  his  enemies  shall  appear,  so  sure  it 
is  that  then  this  sin,  of  which  they  now  think  so  little, 
and  which  often  escapes  even  without  censure  from 
men,  shall  receive  a  special  notice  and  a  tremendous 
punishment.  Not  only,  therefore,  avoid  all  profane- 
ness yourselves,  but  pity  and  pray  for  those  who  are 
guilty  of  it.  "Cast  not  your  pearls  before  swine,"  by 
hasty,  and  indiscriminate,  or  unseasonable  rebuke; 
yet,  consider  it  as  a  sacred  Christian  duty,  to  endea- 
vour to  seek  and  seize  a  favourable  opportunity,  to 
admonish  those  w^hom  you  know  to  be  profane,  of 
their  guilt  and  danger.  A  word  seasonably,  seriously, 
and  tenderly  addressed  to  them  on  this  subject,  may, 
under  the  divine  blessing,  awaken  reflections  which 
may  terminate  in  true  repentance:  and  "let  him 
know,  that  he  which  converteth  the  sinner  from  the 
error  of  his  way,  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and 
shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins." 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  103 


LECTURE  XLII. 


In  the  present  lecture  we  enter  on  the  consideration 
of  the  fourth  commandment,  which  is,  "  Remember 
the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy:  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labour  and  do  all  thy  work,  but  the  seventh  day  is 
the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God:  In  it  thou  shalt 
not  do  any  work;  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daugh- 
ter, thy  man  servant,  nor  thy  maid  servant,  nor  thy 
cattle,  nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates:  For 
in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea 
and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day; 
wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day  and  hal- 
lowed it."  This  fourth  commandment,  our  Catechism 
teaches  us,  "  requireth  the  keeping  holy  to  God  such 
set  times  as  he  hath  appointed  in  his  word,  expressly 
one  whole  day  in  seven  to  be  a  holy  Sabbath  to  him- 
self" In  attending  to  this  answer  of  our  Catechism, 
let  us  first  consider.  That  by  the  appointment  of  God, 
a  certain  part  or  portion  of  our  time,  is  to  be  regarded 
as  holy;  that  is,  set  apart  for  the  special  worship  and 
service  of  God.  This  proposition  is  stated,  not  so 
much  for  the  purpose  of  proof,  as  of  ihustration.  Its 
truth,  we  believe,  is  established  at  once,  by  the  pre- 
cept we  consider.  Nor  does  the  reasonableness  of 
this  precept  require  much  argument.  He  who  gave 
us  our  existence,  and  on  whom  we  constantly  and 
entirely  depend,  both  for  its  continuance  and  for  all  its 
enjoyments,  has  manifestly  a  sovereign  right  to  claim 
a  portion  of  it — a  part  of  our  time — to  be  exclusively 
devoted  to  his  special  service.  Now  any  thing  which 
is  thus  exclusively  devoted  to  the  service  of  Jehovah, 
is  denominated  holy;  this  being  one  of  the  primitive 
and  peculiar  meanings  of  that  word.  Thus  the  tem- 
ple of  the  ancient  Israelites,  its  apartments,  utensils, 
and  sacrifices;  nay,  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  and  the 


1 04  LECTURES    ON    THE 

whole  land  of  Palestine,  were  denominated  holy;  not 
because  there  was  in  these  material  substances  any 
change  of  their  original  nature,  but  because  they 
were  peculiarly  consecrated  to  the  service  of  Jeho- 
vah, and  to  be  regarded  as  in  a  special  sense  his  pro- 
perty. In  like  manner,  in  speaking  oi  holy  time,  we 
do  not  mean  that  there  is  any  thing  in  such  time  in- 
herently different  from  other  time,  any  more  than 
that  the  gold  of  which  the  vessels  of  the  ancient  saric- 
tuary  were  made  was  inherently  different  from  other 
gold.  These  vessels,  as  has  been  said,  were  called 
holy,  because  they  were  to  be  used  only  in  the  sacred 
service  of  the  Most  High;  and  therefore  to  use  them 
for  any  other  purpose  was  highly  profane:  and  so 
holy  time,  inasmuch  as  it  is  to  be  employed,  or  exclu- 
sively spent,  in  the  service  of  God,  is  profaned  by 
spending  it  in  any  other  way. 

In  an  early  part  of  these  lectures,  I  had  occasion  to 
explain  the  difference  between  laws,  which  are  tech- 
nically denominated  moral  natural,  and  those  which 
are  moral  positive;  and  on  that  occasion  I  remarked, 
that  all  the  precepts  of  the  decalogue,  are  moral  in 
their  very  nature;  except  that  part  of  the  command 
now  under  consideration,  which  relates  to  the  par- 
ticular portion  of  time  which  we  are  to  regard  as 
holy;  and  I  intimated  that  even  in  this  there  might 
be  a  natural  fitness,  with  which  we  are  not  acquaint- 
ed. In  opposition  to  this,  however,  there  have  been 
writers  of  eminence,  who  have  maintained  that  the 
whole  of  the  fourth  commandment  was  moral  posi- 
tive only;  and  ought  to  be  regarded  as  no  more  than 
a  part  of  those  temporary  institutions  which  were 
binding  on  the  Jews,  till  the  establishment  of  the  gos- 
pel dispensation;  but  which,  when  this  dispensation 
was  fully  introduced,  were  all  abolished,  and  are  now 
no  longer  obligatory.  These  writers  admit  without 
reserve,  that  there  is  a  natural  fitness  in  the  worship 
of  God,  and  that  men  are  under  a  moral  obligation 
to  worship  him;  but  they  deny  that  Christians  are 
bound  to  regard  any  specific  part  of  time,  as  pecu- 
liarly holy.     In  other  words,  they  maintain  that  the 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  1 05 

fourth  precept  of  the  decalogue,  was  abrogated  along 
with  the  rest  of  the  Jewish  ritual,  of  which  they  con- 
sider it  as  a  part. 

These  opinions,  my  dear  youth,  I  must  say,  appear 
to  me  of  very  dangerous  tendency,  and  to  militate 
pointedly,  both  with  reason  and  Scripture.  Nothing 
is  better  known,  as  a  matter  of  experience,  than  that 
a  duty  which  we  think  we  may  perforiii  at  any  time, 
is  apt  to  be  performed  at  no  time:  or  if  not  entirely 
omitted,  is  likely  to  be  but  occasionally  and  often 
very  slightly  attended  to.  Those  who  purpose  faith- 
fully to  discharge  a  stated  duty,  always,  if  they  act 
wisely,  fix  its  performance  to  certain  set  seasons. 
They  find  that  this  is  the  only  safeguard  against  fre- 
quent and  criminal  neglect.  Does  it  then  seem  rea- 
sonable to  believe,  that  he  who  knows  what  is  in 
man — who  knows  that  the  best  of  men  are  sanctified 
but  in  part,  and  are  apt  to  be  too  much  engrossed 
with  worldly  objects — has  left  the  matter  of  his  wor- 
ship, the  most  important  matter  of  our  existence, 
without  setting  apart  any  particular  time,  in  which 
it  shall  be  specially  regarded?  To  suppose  this,  ap- 
pears to  me  highly  derogatory  to  the  wisdom  of  God, 
and  therefore  in  the  last  degree  improbable.  Beside, 
it  is  admitted,  that  a  rule  was  once  given  to  the  Jews 
on  this  subject,  and  I  know  of  nothing  in  their  cir- 
cumstances, which  rendered  it  more  necessary  to  them 
than  it  is  to  us.  It  should,  moreover,  be  recollected, 
that  men  are  bound  to  worship  God  in  their  social 
capacity,  and  this  indeed  is  admitted  by  our  oppo- 
nents in  the  point  before  us.  But  without  set  seasons 
for  the  purpose,  social  worship  can  hardly  take 
place — it  cannot  be  regularly  and  generally  attended 
on.  Set  times  for  its  celebration,  must  be  specified 
and  observed;  and  if  not  appointed  by  God,  they 
must  be  of  human  appointment.  But  we  cannot  be- 
lieve, that  so  important  a  concern  as  this,  is  left  merely 
to  human  discretion.  It  relates  to  a  point  in  which 
the  honour  of  God  is  concerned,  respecting  which 
we  know  that  he  always  exercises  a  holy  jealousy. 
We  are  not,  indeed,  to  confine  the  worship  and  ser- 

VOL.    II. — 8 


106 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


vice  of  our  Creator  to  stated  seasons.  Our  whole 
lives  ought  to  be  considered  as,  in  a  certain  view,  de- 
voted to  him;  and  we  should  never  pass  a  day  with- 
out the  worship  of  God.  But  constituted  and  circum- 
stanced as  we  confessedly  are,  we  constantly  need  to 
have  the  undue  influence  of  sensible  objects  on  our 
minds  broken,  and  our  attention  to  be  called  and 
fixed  for  some  length  of  time,  on  spiritual  and  holy 
objects;  and  for  this  purpose,  set  seasons  of  entire 
abstraction  from  the  world,  are  of  essential  import- 
ance. 

Let  us  now  consider  this  subject  in  the  light  of 
Holy  Scripture:  and  here  I  remark  that  it  would  ap- 
pear strange  indeed,  that  in  the  midst  of  a  code  of 
moral  laws,  intended  to  be  of  perpetual  obligation, 
we  should  find  one,  and  but  one,  of  a  merely  cere- 
monial and  temporary  nature;  and  this  without  the 
smallest  intimation  that  it  was  of  a  character  diff'erent 
from  the  rest.  There  was,  moreover,  a  marked  dif- 
ference between  the  manner  in  which  the  ten  com- 
mandments were  given,  and  that  which  was  adopted 
in  instituting  the  temporary  ritual  of  the  Hebrews. 
The  ten  commandments  were  uttered  by  an  audible 
voice  of  Jehovah  from  Mount  Sinai;  and  were  also 
engraved  by  the  finger  of  God  on  two  tables  of  stone, 
which  were  to  be  laid  up  in  the  ark,  and  preserved 
with  it  in  the  most  lioly  place.  Not  a  single  cere- 
monial institution,  unless  the  fourth  commandment 
is  one,  was  given  in  this  manner — a  manner  clearly 
intended  to  denote  that  those  laws  possessed  a  dig- 
nity and  perpetuity  of  character,  which  did  not  be- 
long4o  the  ceremonial  rites.  These  rites  were  indeed 
givvjn  by  divine  inspiration  to  Moses,  and  till  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Saviour,  were  doubtless  as  binding  on  the 
Jews,  as  the  precepts  of  the  Decalogue.  But  the  dif- 
ferent manner  in  which  they  were  promulged  and 
preserved,  seems  clearly  to  intimate  the  Divine  ap- 
pointment, that  the  latter  should  be  temporary,  and 
the  former  perpetual. 

Again.  A  part  of  this  commandment  relates  to 
Gentiles  as   well   as  to   Jews;  which  was   not  the 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  107 

ease  with  any  institution  merely  ceremonial.  "Thy 
stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates,"  cannot  intend  pro- 
selytes, whether  servants  of  the  Israelites,  or  others; 
for  these  were  never  accounted  as  strangers.  Gen- 
tiles, who  came  occasionally  into  the  land  of  Jndea, 
are  here  undoubtedly  referred  to.  But  such  persons 
were  not  required  to  observe  any  part  of  the  cere- 
monial law;  yet  they  are  in  this  command  expressly 
enjoined  to  observe  the  Sabbath,  and  those  with 
whom  they  sojourned,  were  required  to  exact  this 
observance  from  them. 

From  these  considerations,  and  some  others  of  a 
similar  nature,  which  I  do  not  think  necessary  to 
specify,  we  conclude,  that  the  fourth  commandment 
ought,  beyond  a  question,  to  be  regarded  as  a  part  of 
the  moral  law — equally  obligatory,  and  as  perpetual 
in  its  nature  and  design,  as  any  other  precept  of  the 
decalogue. 

We  are  aware  that  those  who  represent  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  as  a  ceremonial  institution,  endeavour  to 
support  their  hypothesis  by  what  the  apostle  says, 
Coloss.  ii.  16,17.  "Let  no  man,  therefore,  judge  you 
in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  a  holy  day,  or  of 
the  new  moon,  or  of  the  Sabbath  days;  which  are  a 
shadow  of  things  to  come;  but  the  body  is  of  Christ." 
But  when  we  consider  that  the  writer  of  these  words 
was  in  the  practice  of  observing  a  particular  day  of 
the  week,  for  special  religious  exercises,  as  is  appa- 
rent from  his  epistles,  as  well  as  from  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  we  cannot  believe  that  he  meant  to  con- 
demn this  practice.  He  would,  by  so  doing,  have 
condemned  himself.  By  the  Sabbath  days,  which 
are  a  shadoio  of  things  to  come,  he  plainly  nicsans 
the  Jewish  festivals,  in  which  holy  convocations  were 
held;  and  which  are  often  in  the  Old  Testament  de- 
nominated Sabbaths.  Indeed,  it  seems  evident  at 
once,  by  the  enumeration  in  this  passage  of  rites  con- 
fessedly ceremonial,  that  the  apostle  is  speaking  ex- 
clusively of  them.  And  accordingly  this  prohibition 
is  directed  to  Sabbath  days,  in  the  plural  number, 
and  not  to  the  weekly  Sabbath,  which  would  have 


108  LECTURES    ON     THE 

been  mentioned  in  the  singular,  if  that  had  been  his 
object. 

On  the  whole,  my  young  friends,  the  evidence  that 
the  command  we  are  considering  is  moral  in  its  very 
nature,  and  of  perpetual  obUgation,  appears  to  be 
clear  and  conclusive;  and  if  so,  it  establishes  as  an 
unchanging  law  of  God,  the  setting  apart  of  one 
whole  day  in  seven,  as  a  holy  Sabbath  to  himself;  or 
in  other  words,  that  immediately  after  the  lapse  of 
six  days  of  secular  time,  one  day  is  always  to  be  kept 
holy,  by  appropriating  it  exclusively  to  the  service 
and  worship  of  God.  Which  particular  day  of  the 
seven  ought  to  be  thus  regarded,  under  the  Christian 
dispensation,  is  made  the  subject  of  a  subsequent  an- 
swer of  our  Catechism. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  the  answer  before  us  speaks 
of  "such  set  times,"  in  the  plural  number,  as  "  God 
hath  appointed  in  his  word,"  let  us  consider  what 
we  are  to  understand  by  this  part  of  the  answer.  It 
is  plain  that  the  authors  of  our  Catechism  meant  to 
intimate,  that  as  the  command  was  first  delivered  to 
the  Jews,  they  were  bound,  while  their  ancient  dis- 
pensation continued,  to  pay  a  sacred  regard  to  the 
numerous  specified  seasons,  which  in  the  Mosaic 
ritual,  were  appropriated  to  the  immediate  worship 
of  Jehovah.  They  doubtless  also  intended  to  inti- 
mate, that  all  the  times  on  which  the  day  of  sacred 
rest  should  return,  however  numerous  those  times 
might  be,  were  always  to  be  kept  holy  to  God.  It 
was  likewise,  we  believe,  their  intention  to  suggest 
by  this  expression,  that  no  other  set  seasons  than 
those  which  God  hath  appointed  in  his  word,  ought 
to  be  appointed  by  men.  But  here  we  must  take 
distinctly  into  view,  the  difference  between  set  times 
and  occasional  seasons,  for  the  special  worship  and 
service  of  our  Maker.  It  is  plain  from  the  New  Tes- 
tament, t[iat  there  are  occasions  on  which  it  is  the 
duty  of  Christians  to  observe,  occasionally,  special 
seasons  for  fasting  and  prayer,  and  other  seasons  of 
the  same  kind,  for  thanksgiving  to  God.  Indivi- 
duals, families,  churches,  and  nations,  may  and  ought, 


SHORTER      CATECHISM, 


109 


when  the  providence  of  God  manifestly  calls  to  the 
duty  of  fasting  and  prayer,  or  to  that  of  special 
thanksgiving  for  mercies  received,  to  set  apart  sea- 
sons for  these  purposes  severally,  and  to  observe 
them  devoutly.  But  none  of  these  ought  to  be  set 
seasons;  because  none  such  are  appointed  by  Christ, 
the  sole  lawgiver  of  his  church;  and  because  set  sea- 
sons, of  this  description,  may  interfere  with  the  plain 
indications  of  divine  providence,  at  the  time  of  their 
occurrence — may  call  men  to  rejoice,  when  they 
ought  to  mourn,  and  to  fast  and  lament,  when  they 
ought  to  rejoice  and  give  thanks.  Nor  is  the  obser- 
vance of  these  occasional  seasons  for  special  devo- 
tion obligatory  on  others,  than  those  by  whom  they 
are  set  apart.  One  individual  Christian,  or  one  com- 
munity, may,  at  a  certain  time,  find  them  proper, 
when  with  another  they  may,  at  that  time,  be  highly 
improper.  In  this,  these  occasional  seasons  differ 
from  the  Sabbath,  which  is  at  all  times  obligatory  on 
all  Christians,  after  the  lapse  of  six  secular  days.  In 
a  word,  the  only  set  time  which  God  has  required  to 
be  kept  holy,  is  the  Sabbath;  and  to  appoint  other 
set  times,  is  an  impeachment  of  the  Divine  wisdom, 
as  implying  a  defect  in  his  prescriptions;  and  it  is 
also  to  contravene  the  indications  of  his  holy  provi- 
dence, by  calling  men  to  act  differently  at  certain 
times,  from  what  that  providence  intimates  to  be 
their  present  duty. 

It  follows  from  what  has  just  been  stated,  that 
those  churches  that  appoint  fasts  and  festivals,  to  be 
observed  regularly,  or  at  set  times,  need,  in  this 
particular,  to  be  reformed.  In  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  the  number  of  saints'  days,  and  of  seasons  of 
religious  solemnity  and  observance,  is  so  great  as  to 
entrench,  very  materially,  on  the  time  which  ought  to 
be  devoted  to  secular  employments.  It  should  never 
be  forgotten,  that  the  command  we  consider  as  real- 
ly and  explicitly  requires  that  six  days  should  be 
spent  in  labour — that  all  our  work  of  a  worldly  kind 
may  be  industriously  and  faithfully  done — as  that  on 
the  seventh  we  should  do  no  work,  but  devote  the 


110  LECTURKSONTHE 

whole  time  to  tlie  immediate  service  of  God.  But 
the  corrupt  Romish  church  completely  contravenes 
this  whole  order.  It  first  takes  away  a  part  of  the 
secular  time  which  God  has  appointed  for  labour, 
and  desecrates  his  holy  day,  by  freely  allowing  a 
large  part  of  it  to  be  spent  in  sports  and  amusements, 
or  in  worldly  occupations,  as  every  individual  may 
choose.  It  is  notorious,  that  wherever  other  days 
than  the  Sabbath  are  religiously  observed,  there  that 
holy  day  is  less  strictly  observed  than  its  nature  de- 
mands— less  strictly  than  it  is  generally  observed  by 
those  who  regard  it  as  the  only  set  time  which  God 
has  commanded  to  be  kept  holy.  It  is  also  notorious, 
that  holy  days,  as  they  are  called,  are  times  at  which 
every  species  of  vice  and  disorder  is  more  flagrantly 
and  more  generally  indulged  in,  than  at  any  other 
time;  so  that  these  days  are  really  and  highly  injuri- 
ous to  civil  society,  as  well  as  an  encroachment  on 
the  prerogative  of  God. 

There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  among  Chris- 
tians, as  to  the  part  of  the  day  at  which  holy  time 
may  most  properly  commence.  This,  however,  is 
but  a  circumstance.  The  essence  of  the  command  is, 
that  a  seventh  part  of  our  time — or  one  whole  day  in 
seven — should  be  exclusively  devoted  to  the  extraor- 
dinary service  of  God.  Still,  it  is  a  matter  of  some 
importance,  that  every  circumstance,  in  regard  to  this 
important  subject,  should  be  ordered  in  the  manner 
most  accordant  with  reason  and  revelation.  Ridge- 
ley,  has,  I  think,  made  a  fair  statement  of  this  mat- 
ter; and  what  I  shall  offer  will  be  taken,  with  some 
abridgment  and  change  of  order,  from  what  he  says 
in  his  system.  In  answer  to  the  argument  that  we 
ought  to  begin  the  Sabbath  as  the  Jews  did,  in  the 
evening,  he  observes,  "that  the  beginning  of  sacred 
days  is  to  be  at  the  same  time  with  that  of  civil;  and 
this  was  governed  by  the  custom  of  nations.  The 
Jews'  civil  day  began  at  evening;  and  therefore  it  was 
ordained  that  from  evening  to  evening,  should  be  the 
measure  of  their  sacred  days.  Our  days  liave  another 
beginning  and  ending,  which  difference  is  only  cir- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  Ill 

cumstantial."  In  regard  to  scriptural  light  and  autho- 
rity, he  remarks — "We  have  some  direction  as  to 
this  matter,  from  the  intimation  given  us,  that  Christ 
rose  from  the  dead  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  very 
early  in  the  morning,  luhile  it  was  yet  dark.  There- 
fore the  Lord's  day  begins  in  the  morning,  before  sun- 
rising;  or,  according  to  our  usual  way  of  reckoning, 
we  may  conclude  it  begins  immediately  after  mid- 
night, and  continues  till  midnight  following;  whicli  is 
our  common  method  of  computing  time;  beginning  it 
with  the  morning  and  ending  it  with  the  evening. 
Again,  if  the  Sabbath  begins  in  the  evening,  religious 
worship  ought  to  be  performed  some  time,  at  least, 
in  the  evening;  and  then,  soon  after  it  is  begun,  it  will 
be  interrupted  by  the  succeeding  night,  and  then  it 
must  be  revived  again  the  succeeding  day:  And  as 
to  the  end  of  the  Sabbath,  it  seems  not  so  agreeable, 
that  when  we  have  been  engaged  in  the  worship  of 
God  through  the  day,  we  should  spend  the  evening 
in  secular  employments;  which  cannot  be  judged  un- 
lawful, if  the  Sabbath  be  then  at  an  end.  Therefore 
it  is  much  more  expedient,  that  the  whole  work  of 
the  day  should  be  continued  as  long  as  our  world- 
ly employments  are  on  other. days;  and  our  begin- 
ning and  ending  of  religious  duties,  should,  in  some 
measure,  be  agreeable  thereunto.  Another  scripture 
brought  to  prove  this  argument  is  in  John  xx.  10. 
"The  same  day  at  evening,  being  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  when  the  doors  were  shut  where  the  disciples 
were  assembled  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  came  Jesus,  and 
stood  in  the  midst  and  said,  peace  be  unto  you."  It  is 
called  the  evening  of  the  same  day;  so  that  the  wor- 
ship which  was  performed  that  day  was  continued  in 
the  evening  thereof:  This  is  not  called  the  evening 
of  the  next  day,  but  of  the  same  day  in  which  Christ 
rose  from  the  dead;  which  was  the  first  Christian 
Sabbath." 

Although,  therefore,  I  would  guard  you  against 
being  contentious  on  this  subject,  I  cannot  but  think 
the  considerations  here  stated,  in  favour  of  beginning 
and  ending  the  day  of  sacred  rest  as  we  begin  and 


112  LECTURES    ON     THE 

end  other  days,  are  clearly  decisive.  I  will,  however, 
close  the  lecture  with  observing,  that  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, it  will  be  well  for  you,  my  young  friends,  to 
adopt  what  I  know  has  been  the  practice  of  some 
devout  Christians;  that  is,  to  spend  the  evening  of 
Saturday,  as  much  as  you  conveniently  can,  in  retire- 
ment from  the  world.  The  children  of  dissipation 
often  spend  it  in  parties  of  mirth  and  levity,  or  at 
theatres,  or  other  places  of  carnal  amusement;  and 
they  often  add  to  their  other  sins,  by  an  actual  trespass 
on  holy  time.  Take  for  yourselves  an  exactly  oppo- 
site course.  Whenever  you  can,  so  order  your  ati'airs 
that  your  worldly  occupations  on  the  evening  pre- 
ceding the  Lord's  day,  may  be  of  such  a  retired  and 
peaceful  kind,  as  to  admit  of  serious  meditation ;  avoid 
promiscuous  company  altogether;  let  your  associa- 
tions at  this  time,  be  with  the  pious,  and  your  con- 
versation be  on  religious  topics;  or  better  still,  if  you 
can  spend  a  part  at  least  of  the  evening,  in  religious 
reading  and  devout  meditation.  I  am  well  aware 
that  many  are  so  circumstanced  that  a  stated  compli- 
ance with  this  advice  will  not  be  practicable;  and  I 
offer  it,  not  as  pointing  out  a  prescribed  duty,  but  as 
a  matter  of  Christian  j>rudence,  with  those  who  are 
favoured  in  providence  to  have  their  time  in  some 
good  degree  at  their  voluntary  disposal.  Even  our 
ordinary  devotions,  on  secular  days,  will  not  usually 
be  performed  to  the  greatest  advantage,  unless  they 
are  preceded  by  a  short  space  of  recollected  and  seri- 
ous thought.  And  it  is  highly  desirable,  with  a  view 
to  the  most  profitable  spending  of  holy  time,  to  pre- 
pare for  it,  by  getting  our  minds  into  a  devout  frame. 
It  is  delightful  indeed  to  the  practical  Christian,  when 
the  evening  which  precedes  the  Lord's  day  is  so  spent, 
that  his  very  dreams  become  devout;  and  that  he 
awakes  in  the  morning  on  which  his  Saviour  rose 
from  the  dead  with  the  aspirations  of  his  mind  going 
forth  to  him,  as  he  is  now  seated  on  his  throne  in  the 
heavens,  and  with  the  whole  soul  attuned  to  the  em- 
ployments of  the  sacred  hours  of  this  blessed  day. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  113 


LECTURE  XLIII. 


In  our  last  lecture  I  endeavoured  to  show  that  the 
fourth  commandment  of  the  decalogue  is  moral,  m 
the  highest  and  strictest  sense  of  the  word;  and  that 
it  is,  of  course,  of  perpetual  obligation — requiring  us 
to  keep  holy  to  God  all  such  set  seasons  as  he  hath 
appointed  in  his  word,  and  especially  to  consecrate 
to  his  exclusive  service  one  whole  day  in  seven. 
Which  day  of  the  week  ought  to  be  thus  consecrated 
to  God,  we  are  now  to  consider.  On  this  point  the 
statement  of  our  Catechism  is,  that — "From  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  God 
appointed  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  to  be  the 
weekly  Sabbath;  and  the  first  day  of  the  week  ever 
since,  to  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world,  which  is 
the  Christian  Sabbath." 

There  are  some,  my  young  friends,  who  explicitly 
deny  the  truth  of  the  first  part  of  this  statement;  that 
is,  they  deny  that  the  obligation  to  observe  the  sev- 
enth day  of  the  week  as  a  sabbath,  was  coeval  with 
the  completion  of  the  work  of  creation,  or  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world.  They  insist  that  it  had  no 
other  or  earlier  origin,  than  the  time  when  the  com- 
mand before  us  was  delivered  to  the  Israelites  at 
Mount  Sinai.  But  this  opinion,  although  adopted 
and  defended  by  some  men  of  eminence  in  the  church, 
appears  to  me  to  be  in  direct  opposition  to  the  sacred 
record,  (Gen.  ii.  2,  3,)  where  it  is  said,  "And  on  the 
seventh  day,  God  ended  his  work  which  he  had  made; 
and  he  rested  the  seventh  day  from  all  his  work  which 
he  had  made;  and  God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and 
sanctified  it;  because  that  in  it  he  had  rested  from  all 
his  work  which  God  created  and  made."  Those  who 
deny  the  primeval  institution  of  the  Sabbath  say,  that 
the  blessing  here  pronounced  on  the  seventh  day,  and 


114  LECTURES      ON      THE 

its  sanctification  as  a  day  of  holy  rest,  was  prolepiical; 
that  is,  God  then  ordained  that  at  some  future  time — 
and  according  to  these  interpreters,  that  time  was  then 
more  than  two  thousand  years  distant — the  seventh 
day  should  be  kept  holy,  and  that  a  blessing  should 
then  attend  its  observance.  I  must  say,  that  this  ap- 
pears to  me  one  of  the  harshest  and  most  forced  inter- 
pretations of  a  plain  passage  of  Scripture,  that  I  have 
ever  seen.  The  reason  assigned  for  God's  blessing 
the  Sabbath  day  is,  that  on  it  he  rested  from  all  his 
work,  and  the  text  distinctly  implies  that  at  that  time 
he  blessed  and  sanctified  it.  His  resting  from  his 
work,  and  his  blessing  and  sanctifying  the  day  of  rest, 
are  represented  as  cotemporaneous.  The  language 
in  which  both  facts  are  announced  relates  to  one  and 
the  same  period.  Yet  those  from  whom  we  differ  in 
this  matter,  construe  the  language  in  relation  to  the 
fact  literally,  in  the  present  time,  and  the  language 
relative  to  the  benediction  and  sanctification  of  the 
'^^Y  figuratively,  as  referring  to  future  time — future 
by  the  space  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  years. 
This,  my  dear  youth,  is  taking  such  a  liberty  with  the 
language  of  sacred  Scripture  as  I  deem  altogether 
unwarrantable:  and  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  warn 
you,  not  to  listen  to  any  such  interpretation  of  any 
part  of  the  oracles  of  God,  let  it  come  from  whomso- 
ever it  may.  Its  direct  tendency  is  to  discredit  divine 
revelation,  by  exhibiting  it  as  a  doubtful  and  uncer- 
tain guide.  Beside,  in  the  present  instance,  if  resting 
from  his  work  on  the  seventh  day  was  the  reason 
that  God  sanctified  and  blessed  it — and  this  is  affirm- 
ed in  the  fourth  commandment,  as  well  as  in  the  pas- 
sage I  have  quoted — this  reason  was  as  powerful  for 
the  religious  observance  of  the  day,  before  the  time 
of  Moses,  as  after  it.  God  had  a  church  in  the  world, 
as  really  then  as  afterwards;  and  without  some  spe- 
cified time  for  his  worship,  it  would  soon  have  fallen 
into  general,  and  at  last  into  total  neglect;  for  the 
whole  experience  of  the  world  establishes  the  position, 
that  religious  worship,  whether  private  or  public,  will 
not  long  be  continued,  unless  set  seasons  be  appoint- 


SHORTER      CATECHISM. 


115 


ed  for  its  performance.  Nor  is  it  at  all  reasonable  to 
suppose,  that  through  the  long  period  of  the  patri- 
archal dispensation,  the  people  of  God  were  denied 
the  inestimable  privilege  of  that  sabbatical  institution, 
which  his  church  has  ever  since  enjoyed. 

The  only  reason  assigned  by  those  who  adopt  the 
strange  opinion  to  which  I  have  adverted  is,  that  the 
Scripture  is  wholly  silent,  in  regard  to  the  observance 
of  the  Sabbath,  from  the  time  of  the  creation  till  the 
Exodus  from  Egypt,  Suppose  the  fact  to  be  exactly 
as  this  objection  states,  and  we  may  still  maintain  that 
it  is  wholly  without  weight.  We  do  not  read  of  any 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  during  the  whole  time  of 
the  Hebrew  judges — a  space  of  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty  years;  and  yet  our  opponents  themselves  do 
not  question,  that  it  was  observed  through  the  whole 
of  that  period.  The  truth  is,  the  history  of  the  church, 
in  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  is  so  brief  and  sum- 
mary, that  its  silence  in  regard  to  a  particular  fact,  is 
no  conclusive  evidence  that  such  a  fact  did  not  take 
place.  It  is  not  even  a  strong  presumption  against 
the  existence  of  any  fact,  which  is  rendered  probable 
by  other  evidence. 

But  brief  and  comprehensive  as  are  the  records  of 
the  Pentateuch,  we  do  by  no  means  admit  that  it 
contains  no  intimations,  or  evidence,  that  a  sabbath 
was  observed,  even  from  the  days  of  our  first  parents. 
We  read,  Gen.  iv.  3,  4,  that  "in  process  of  time," 
Cain  and  Abel  brought  their  offerings  to  the  Lord. 
The  phrase  "  process  of  time,"  when  literally  render- 
ed from  the  Hebrew  is,  "at  the  end  of  days;"  and 
this  is  the  marginal  reading  in  our  common  transla- 
tion. Now  "  the  end  of  days,"  here  mentioned,  ap- 
pears to  refer  to  some  period  by  which  time  was  then 
measured;  audit  is  highly  probable,  as  many  judicious 
critics  have  observed,  that  it  refers  to  the  end  of  the 
week,  or  the  day  on  which  the  week  terminated, 
which  was  the  seventh — reckoning  weeks  from  the 
day  on  which  God  rested  from  his  work. 

Again.  In  Gen.  viii.  6 — 12,  we  have  a  remarkable 
account  of  the  sending  forth  of  a  raven,  and  a  dove, 


116  LECTTTRES    ON    THE 

by  Noah,  to  ascertain  whether  the  waters  of  the  flood 
had  so  subsided  as  to  permit  his  leaving  the  ark. 
Three  experiments  were  made,  and  it  appears  that 
there  was  an  interval  of  seven  days  between  each. 
On  this  the  judicious  Scott  remarks— "The  repeated 
mention  of  seven  days,  seems  an  intimation  of  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  the  ark;  after  the  ordi- 
nances of  which  the  dove  was  sent  out." 

Further — There  is  positive  evidence  that  a  sabbath 
was  observed  by  the  Hebrews  before  their  arrival  at 
Mount  Sinai,  and  the  giving  of  the  decalogue,  of 
which  the  fourth  commandment  is  a  part.  When  the 
Israelites  were  in  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  which  was 
some  time  before  they  entered  the  wilderness  of  Sinai, 
we  find  that  the  sabbath  was  observed.  There  is  a 
particular  account  of  this,  with  an  especial  reference 
to  the  gathering  and  preservation  of  the  Manna,  in 
the  sixteenth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Exodus,  which 
you  may  read  at  your  leisure.  Scott's  commentary 
on  this  transaction  is  as  follows.  "  It  is  remarkable 
that  three  miracles  were  wrought  every  week  in 
honour  of  the  sabbath,  even  before  the  promulgation 
of  the  Mosaic  law.  Double  the  quantity  (of  Manna) 
fell  the  day  before;  none  fell  on  the  sabbath  day; 
nor  did  that  stink  which  they  kept  for  that  day.  This 
confirms  the  supposition  that  the  institution  of  the 
sabbath  was  from  the  beginning."  If  it  be  alleged, 
as  it  has  been  by  some,  that  the  sabbath  was  first 
instituted  at  this  very  time;  that  is,  while  the  Israel- 
ites were  in  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  we  reply  that  the 
allegation  is  made,  not  only  without  evidence,  but  in 
opposition  to  all  the  evidence  which  exists  in  the  case. 
There  is  no  intimation  whatever  of  a  new  institution 
or  ordinance  then  appointed  and  introduced;  but  on 
the  contrary,  the  language  of  Moses  most  naturally 
imports,  that  he  reminded  them  of  a  divine  appoint- 
ment, of  which  they  had  before  been  apprized.  In 
Egypt  they  had  no  doubt  been  compelled  by  their 
tyrannical  prince,  and  his  rigorous  task-masters,  to 
violate  the  sabbath,  and  perhaps  had  so  long  neglect- 
ed its  appropriate  duties,  as  to  be  in  a  great  measure 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  117 

ignorant  of  them.  They  had  doubtless  been  accus- 
tomed to  perform  servile  labour  on  this  sacred  day, 
and  needed  to  be  particularly  instructed  and  guarded 
on  this  point.  This  was  done  by  the  divine  dispen- 
sation in  regard  to  the  Manna,  and  at  the  same  time 
Moses  took  occasion  to  teach  them,  that  the  whole 
day  was  to  be  spent  in  the  immediate  service  of  God. 

Once  more.  "  The  division  of  time  into  weeks,  or 
periods  of  seven  days,  which  obtained  so  early  and 
almost  universally,  is  a  strong  indication  that  one 
day  in  seven  was  always  distinguished  in  a  particu- 
lar manner.  Week,  and^eyen  clays,  dixe  in  Scripture 
language  synonymous  terms.  This  septenary  divi- 
sion of  time  has  been,  from  the  earliest  ages,  uniform- 
ly observed  over  all  the  eastern  world.  The  Israel- 
ites, Assyrians,  Egyptians,  Indians,  Arabians,  and 
Persians,  have  always  made  use  of  a  week,  consist- 
ing of  seven  days.  Many  vain  attempts  have  been 
made  to  account  for  this  uniformity;  but  a  practice 
so  general  and  prevalent  could  never  have  taken 
place,  had  not  the  septenary  division  of  the  time  been 
instituted  from  the  beginning,  and  handed  down  by 
tradition.  It  has  been  supposed  by  some,  that  the 
heathens  borrowed  the  notion  of  the  sacredness  of 
the  seventh  day  from  the  Jews.  But  this  opinion 
will  not  readily  be  admitted,  when  it  is  considered 
that  the  Jews  were  held  in  the  greatest  contempt  by 
the  surrounding  nations,  who  derided  them  no  less 
for  their  sabbaths  than  for  their  circumcision.  All 
sorts  of  writers  ridiculed  them  on  this  account."* 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  there  is  satisfactory  evi- 
dence, that  the  law  of  the  sabbath  was,  with  other 
moral  laws,  revealed  to  our  first  parents  at  their  crea- 
tion in  innocence;  that  it  was  observed  by  them  even 
in  Paradise,  as  well  as  after  their  fall;  that  the  patri- 
archal church  regarded  jt,  and  partook  of  its  inestima- 
ble benefits;  that  it  was  inserted,  with  a  clear  specifi- 
cation of  its  requirements  and  prohibitions,  in  the 
moral  code  which  was  delivered  to  the  Israelites  at 

*  Encyclopaedia — article  Sabbath, 


118  LECTURES     ON      THE 

Sinai;  and  to  show  its  high  ranli  in  the  scale  of  moral 
obligation,  as  well  as  for  its  better  preservation,  it 
was,  with  three  other  precepts  of  a  similar  character, 
inscribed  by  the  finger  of  God  on  the  first  table  of 
moral  duties:  And  if  this  be  so,  it  puts  to  rest  the 
question  in  regard  to  its  being  a  part  of  the  Jewish 
ritual.  Being  in  its  origin  no  part  of  that  ritual,  but 
an  institution  appointed  by  the  Creator  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world,  and  of  an  inherently  moral 
kind,  its  observance  is  obligatory  at  all  times,  and 
among  all  people. 

The  answer  of  the  Catechism  under  consideration 
also  states,  that  "from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to 
the  resurrection  of  Christ,  God  appointed  the  seventh 
day  of  the  week  to  be  the  weekly  sabbath."  There 
have  been  those,  however,  who  have  maintained  with 
much  ingenuity,  learning  and  plausibility,  that  the 
first  day  of  the  week  was  the  day  of  sacred  rest  origi- 
nally appointed  by  God;  that  this  appointment  con- 
tinued till  the  time  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation;  and 
that  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  was  then  appointed 
to  be  observed  as  the  sabbath  by  the  Israelites,  for 
two  powerful  reasons,  in  addition  to  that  which  was 
given  at  the  beginning — first,  that  their  sacred  day 
might  be  different  from  that  of  the  idolatrous  heath- 
ens, who  had  learned  by  tradition  that  the  first  day 
of  the  week  was  to  be  set  apart  for  religious  worship, 
and  who  observed  it  for  the  worship  of  the  sun,  and 
the  other  heavenly  luminaries — and  secondly,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  deliverance  from  the  Egyptian 
bondage,  which  is  particularly  mentioned  by  Moses 
in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  as  a  special  rea- 
son why  the  Hebrews  should  remember  the  sabbath 
and  keep  it  holy.  It  would  follow  from  this  hypo- 
thesis, that  the  day  v.'hich  Christians  now  regard  as 
the  sabbath,  is  that  which  was  originally  appointed 
by  God;  and  that  the  Jewish  sabbath  was  a  part  of 
their  ritual,  and  a  departure  from  the  primitive  order, 
which  was  restored  when  the  work  of  our  redemp- 
tion was  completed  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
The  learned  and  distinguished  Selden  is  the  principal 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  119 

advocate  of  this  system;  but  as  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Assembly  of  divines  that  framed  our  Catechism, 
he  either  did  not  lay  his  reasonings  and  opinions  on 
this  topic  before  that  Assembly,  or  if  he  did,  the 
answer  before  us  shows  that  they  were  not  adopted. 

The  question,  you  will  observe,  relates  merely  to  a 
circumstance,  in  no  wise  affecting  the  great  doctrine 
that  a  seventh  part  of  our  time  is  to  be  regularly  and 
exclusively  devoted  to  religious  duties.  Tiiis  was 
required  of  the  patriarchs  and  the  Jews,  and  this  is 
what  is  still  obligatory  on  Christians.  Dr.  Doddridge 
has  well  observed,  that  as  morning,  noon  and  night, 
vary  in  different  parts  of  our  globe,  this  of  necessity 
makes  a  variation  in  the  reckoning  of  time,  as  to  the 
beginning  and  ending  of  a  day;  and  that  of  course 
the  sabbath  does  not  begin  in  one  place  till  some 
hours  after  it  has  begun  in  another.  Yet  it  is  one 
whole  day  in  seven,  in  regular  succession,  which  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  according  to  their  own 
reckoning  of  days,  are  required  to  keep  holy.  In 
this  consists  the  essence  of  the  duty;  and  it  has  been 
justly  remarked,  that  the  benediction  of  the  fourth 
commandment  is  not  pronounced  on  the  seventh  day 
from  the  creation,  but  on  the  sabbath  day,  whereso- 
ever, and  whensoever,  it  is  properly  observed.  The 
opinion  which  has  led  to  these  remarks  was  adopted 
by  the  learned  Dr.  Kennicot.  I  shall  lay  before  you 
his  short  statement,  to  which  you  will  yield  or  with- 
hold your  assent,  as  you  may  think  proper.* 

The  concluding  part  of  the  answer  before  us  states, 
that  ever  since  the  resurrection  of  Christ  till  the  end 
of  the  world,  the  first  day  of  the  week  is  to  be  ob- 
served as  the  Christian  sabbath.  This  position  is  de- 
nied by  a  sect  of  Christians  denominated  Sabbatari- 
ans, on  the  ground  that  there  is  no  explicit  command 
in  the  New  Testament  for  the  observance  of  the  sab- 
bath on  the  first  day  of  the  week;  and  therefore  that 
the  seventh  day,  or  the  Jewish  sabbath,  is  still  to  be 
held  sacred.   But  we  believe  that  no  principle  is  more 

*  See  note  at  the  end  of  the  Lecture. 


1 20  LECTURES     ON    THE 

obviously  reasonable  and  just,  than  that  which  is  re- 
cognized in  our  Confession  of  Faith,  that  what  is  "  de- 
duced from  Scripture  by  good  and  necessary  conse- 
quence," is  of  the  same  validity  as  that  which  is  "ex- 
pressly set  down  in  Scripture."  The  Bible  would 
have  been  far  too  large  a  book  for  popular  use — it 
would  have  extended  to  many  volumes  instead  of 
one — if  every  duty,  with  all  its  circumstances,  had 
been  made  the  subject  of  an  explicit  command.  Be- 
side, it  was  manifestly  the  design  of  God  in  the  reve- 
lation of  his  will,  to  afford  scope  for  the  exercise  of 
the  human  faculties,  and  even  to  require  their  dili- 
gent and  candid  exercise,  in  order  to  the  discovery  of 
the  real  mind  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  in  various  parts  of 
the  sacred  Scriptures.  Now  we  assuredly  believe, 
that  we  can  deduce  from  the  New  Testament,  by  good 
and  necessary  consequence,  that  it  is  the  appointment 
of  God  our  Saviour,  that  the  first  day  of  the  week  is 
to  be  observed,  from  the  resurrection  of  Christ  to  the 
end  of  the  world,  as  the  Christian  sabbath.  To  be 
convinced  of  this, consider — 

1.  There  is  evidence  that  our  Saviour  himself  met 
repeatedly  with  his  disciples,  when  they  were  assem- 
bled together  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  pro- 
nounced a  blessing  on  them  in  their  collective  capa- 
city. We  read,  John  xx.  19,  "  that  the  same  day  (on 
which  our  Saviour  rose  from  the  dead)  at  evening, 
being  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  the  doors  were 
shut,  where  the  disciples  were  assembled  for  fear  of 
the  Jews,  came  Jesus  and  stood  in  the  midst  of  them, 
and  said,  peace  be  unto  you."  And  in  the  26th  verse 
of  the  same  chapter,  we  find,  that  "after  eight  days 
(that  is  including  the  day  on  which  this  occurrence 
took  place,  which  was  the  usual  method  of  reckoning 
time  among  the  Jews)  again  his  disciples  were  with- 
in; then  came  Jesus,  the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood 
in  the  midst  and  said,  peace  be  unto  you."  Although 
in  both  these  instances,  it  is  said  that  the  doors  of  the 
place  where  the  disciples  were  assembled  were  shut, 
and  the  fear  of  the  Jews  is  assigned  as  the  cause,  yet 
this  does  not  appear  to  be  the  reason  of  their  meeting 


SHOKTER     CATECHISM, 


121 


together,  since  they  could  much  more  easily  have  con- 
cealed themselves  by  keeping  separate  than  by  coming 
together.  The  doors,  it  is  plain,  were  shut,  after  they 
came  together,  to  conceal  the  place  of  their  meeting. 
The  meeting  itself  appears  to  have  been  for  religious 
worship,  and  to  commemorate  the  resurrection  of 
their  Lord:  and  he  sanctioned  this  procedure,  by  ap- 
pearing among  them  in  person,  and  pronouncing  a 
benediction  on  them  in  two  instances,  and  these,  the 
first  in  which  they  adopted  this  practice. 

2.  It  was  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  the 
primitive  disciples  "  were  all  with  one  accord  in  one 
place,"  and  probably  employed  in  acts  of  religious 
worship,  that  they  received  that  great  and  special 
gift,  the  miraculous  effusion  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  by 
which  they  were  not  only  enabled  to  speak  at  once 
various  languages,  which  they  had  never  learned,  but 
fully  to  understand  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom,  and  thus  to  be  qualified  to  publish 
the  gospel  in  its  purity  throughout  the  world;  and  by 
which,  also,  three  thousand  converts  were  made  in 
one  day,  as  an  earnest  of  what  might  afterwards  be 
expected.  We  are  expressly  told  that  this  wonderful 
event  happened  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  a  day  which 
received  its  name  because  it  occurred  fifty  days  after 
the  second  day  of  the  Jewish  Passover,  or  rather  of 
the  feast  of  unleavened  bread.  From  this  time,  they 
were  to  reckon  seven  weeks,  or  forty-nine  days,  to  the 
commencement  of  the  Pentecost.  This  would  bring 
them  to  a  Saturday  evening,  preceding  the  Lord's 
day  morning,  so  that  on  this  morning — the  morning 
of  the  fiftieth  day — the  day  of  Pentecost,  in  the  accu- 
rate language  of  the  sacred  historian,  "  was  fully 
come."  On  this  morning,  we  accordingly  find  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  miraculously  poured  out,  producing 
all  the  astonishing  effects,  of  which  we  have  an  ac- 
count in  the  second  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles. Now,  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  after  the  gift 
of  the  Saviour  himself,  is  the  greatest  ever  bestowed 
on  our  sinful  and  ruined  race:  and  when  we  consider 
that  this  most  remarkable  and  miraculous  instance,  or 

VOL.  II. — 9 


122  LECTURES    ON    THE 

exhibition  of  the  gift,  was  made  on  the  weekly  return 
of  the  day  of  our  Saviour's  resurrection  from  the  dead; 
and  that  when  made,  it  is  highly  probable  the  disciples 
were  in  the  actual  observance  of  that  day,  as  a  season 
sacred  to  their  risen  Lord,  it  seems  strongly  to  indicate 
that  this,  in  perpetuity,  was  to  be  the  Christian  sab- 
bath; and  that  in  the  religious  observance  of  this  day 
Christians  might  ordinarily  expect  that  the  special  in- 
fluences of  the  Holy  Spirit  would  be  peculiarly  im- 
parted— would  be  more  commonly  experienced  than 
on  other  days — to  give  a  saving  effect  to  the  institu- 
tions and  ministration  of  the  gospel.  Nor  ought  it  to 
pass  without  notice,  that  the  history  of  the  church  and 
our  own  observation  demonstrate,  that  the  fact  has 
corresponded  with  such  an  indication.  The  Christian 
Sabbath  has  ever  been  the  harvest  season,  in  which, 
under  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  souls  have 
been  gathered  to  the  Saviour,  and  the  people  of  God 
have  been  refreshed  and  animated  in  their  Christian 
course. 

3.  We  have  unequivocal  evidence  that  the  apostle 
Paul  observed  the  first  day  of  the  week  for  religious 
worship,  and  directed  the  churches  which  he  had 
planted  to  do  the  same.  It  is  said.  Acts  xx.  7,  that 
"  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  the  disciples 
came  together  to  break  bread,  Paul  preached  luito 
them,  ready  to  depart  on  the  morrow,  and  continued 
his  speech  until  midnight."  You  will  find  by  con- 
sulting the  preceding  verse,  that  at  Troas,  where  this 
occurrence  took  place,  the  whole  time  of  the  apostle's 
slay  with  the  church  there,  on  this  visit,  was  seven 
days.  Now,  as  it  is  particularly  mentioned  that  lie 
was  "to  depart  on  the  morrow,"  he  must  have  ar- 
rived among  them  in  the  beginning  of  the  preceding 
week;  and  to  me  it  seems  highly  probable  that,  al- 
though he  was  in  great  haste  to  reach  Jerusalem  by 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  he  consented  to  remain  with 
them  over  the  sabbath,  that  he  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  preach  to  a  greater  number  than  could  be 
assembled  on  any  other  day,  and  at  the  same  time 
administer  to  them  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  sup- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  123 

per.  At  any  rate,  it  is  clear  from  the  text,  that  it  was 
a  usage  in  this  church,  to  come  together  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  to  celebrate  the  Encharist,  and  for 
other  religious  services. 

Again.  In  1  Cor.  xvi.  1,  2,  we  find  this  record — 
"As  I  have  given  order  to  the  churches  of  Galatia, 
even  so  do  ye.  Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  let 
every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store,  as  God  hath 
prospered  him,  that  there  be  no  gatherings  when  I 
come."  It  is  evident  from  this  passage,  that  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  in  a  large  number  of  the 
churches  gathered  from  among  the  Gentiles  by  the 
apostle  Paul,  a  religious  duty  was,  by  his  order,  to  be 
statedly  performed — the  duty  of  making  a  charitable 
provision  for  the  poor  saints  in  Judea,  then  suffering 
both  by  famine  and  persecution.  The  distance  was 
great  between  the  churches  of  Galatia,  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  Asia  Minor,  and  the  church  of  Corinth, 
ill  Peninsular  Greece;  and  here  is  a  duty  which  was 
to  be  regularly  performed,  by  apostolic  command,  on 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  in  all  these  Christian 
churches,  and  probably  in  many  others,  if  not  in  all 
that  had  been  planted  by  this  apostle.  The  specific 
duty  was  a  contribution  for  the  poor;  but  the  reason 
why  it  was  to  be  done  statedly  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  is  well  explained  by  Dr.  Doddridge,  in  the  fol- 
lowing paraphrase  of  the  passage — "  When  you  hold 
your  Christian  assemblies  on  Ihe  first  day  of  the  week, 
in  commemoration  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord, 
which  has  made  that  day  sacred  amongst  us,  lei  every 
one  of  you  lay  something  by,  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  in  which,  by  the  divine  blessing  he  hath  been 
prospered  in  his  affairs ;  and  let  him  bring  it  with 
him  to  the  place  of  your  public  worship;  then  trea- 
suring it  up  in  the  common  stock,  that  so  it  may  be 
ready  in  one  sum,  and  there  be  no  necessity  of  making 
any  particular  collections  when  I  come.'' ^  The  origi- 
nal words,  which  in  our  common  version  are  rendered 
"let  every  one  lay  by  him  in  store,"  Doddridge,  you 
perceive,  translates  "treasuring  it  up,"  and  in  a  note 
he  says — "  We  render  it, '  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by 


1 24  LECTURES     ON    THE 

him  in  store.'  But  the  following  words  show,  that  it 
was  to  be  put  into  a  common  stock.  The  argument 
drawn  from  hence  for  the  religious  observation  of  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  in  these  primitive  churches  of 
Corinth  and  Galatia,  is  too  obvious  to  need  any  fur- 
ther illustration,  and  yet  too  important  to  be  passed 
by  in  entire  silence."  Now,  as  the  epistle  to  the  Co- 
rinthians is  directed,  not  only  to  them,  but  to  "  all 
that  in  every  place  call  upon  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,"  it  may  fairly  be  considered  as  intimating,  that 
the  first  day  of  the  week  is  to  be  regarded  as  the 
Christian  Sabbath,  among  all  people,  and  "  till  the  end 
of  the  world." 

4.  In  Rev.  i.  10,  we  find  the  apostle  John  using 
these  words,  "I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day." 
Does  any  one,  I  ask,  entertain  a  doubt  which  day  of 
the  week  the  beloved  apostle  meant  by  the  Lord's 
day?  It  is  manifest  that  there  was  then  in  the 
Church  a  day,  which  was  so  well  known  and  dis- 
criminated by  calling  it  the  Lord's  day,  that  no  other 
explanation  was  needed  to  point  it  out.  In  fact,  it 
appears  that  the  Christians  then,  knew  as  well  as  we 
do  now,  what  day  a  writer  or  speaker  intended,  when 
he  mentioned  the  Lord's  day;  and  it  is  equally  pal- 
pable that  they,  as  well  as  we,  could  mean  by  this 
designation  no  other  than  the  first  day  of  the  week. 
It  doubtless  was  called  the  Lord's  day,  because  on 
this  day  he  rose  triumphantly  from  the  tomb,  com- 
pleted on  this  day  the  work  of  our  redemption — a 
work  more  arduous  in  itself,  and  more  important  to 
us,  than  the  work  of  creation — and  because,  for  these 
reasons,  he  claimed  that  this  day  should  be  regarded 
as  his  property,  and  should  be  observed  thenceforth 
as  "the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord,"  in  all  succeeding 
generations.  If  then  the  example  of  the  whole  apos- 
tolic church,  originating,  we  cannot  doubt,  in  a  com- 
mand from  the  Redeemer  himself — either  in  the  forty 
days  which  he  spent  with  his  apostles  after  his  resur- 
rection, "  speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the 
kingdom  of  God,"  or  in  a  communication  made  to 
them  miraculously  by  his  Holy  Spirit — for  without 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  125 

such  authority  we  cannot  suppose  they  would  have 
estabhshed  an  observance  for  the  whole  church — if, 
I  say,  the  example  of  the  entire  apostolic  church,  thus 
originating,  and  fortified  by  such  reasons  as  I  have 
now,  in  several  particulars,  laid  before  you,  is  to  be 
an  authoritative  guide  to  us,  as  it  indubitably  ought 
to  be,  then  is  the  first  day  of  the  week  to  be  observed, 
till  the  end  of  the  world,  as  the  Christian  Sabbath. 

Note — To  whlcii  there  is  a  reference  at  page  119.  "There  is 
great  reason  to  believe,  that  tiie  Sabbath  of  the  Israelites  was  altered 
with  their  year  at  their  coming  forth  from  Egypt,  and  a  short  atten- 
tion to  this  point  may  not  here  be  improper.  The  case  then  seems  to 
be  this.  At  the  finishing  of  the  creation,  God  sanctified  the  seventh 
day.  This  seventh  day  being  the  first  day  of  Adam's  life,  was  con- 
secrated by  way  of  first  fruits  to  God,  and  therefore  Adam  may  rea- 
sonably be  supposed  to  have  began  his  computation  of  the  days  of  the 
week  with  the  first  whole  day  of  his  existence.  Thus  the  Sabbath 
became  the  first  day  of  the  week.  But  when  mankind  fell  from  the 
worship  of  the  true  God,  they  first  substituted  the  Sun  in  his  place; 
and  preserving  the  same  weekly  day  of  worship,  but  devoting  it  to 
the  Sun,  the  Sabbath  was  thence  called  Sunday.  Thus  the  Sabbath 
of  the  Patriarchs  continued  to  be  the  Sunday  of  the  idolaters,  till  the 
coming  up  of  the  Israelites  out  of  Egypt,  and  then,  as  God  altered 
the  beginning  of  their  year,  so  he  also  changed  the  day  of  their  wor- 
ship, from  Sunday  to  Saturday.  The  first  reason  of  which  might  be, 
that  as  Sunday  was  the  day  of  worship  among  the  idolaters,  the  Is- 
raelites would  be  more  likely  to  join  with  them,  if  they  rested  on  the 
same  day,  than  if  they  were  to  work  on  that  day,  and  serve  their 
God  upon  another.  But  a  second  reason  certainly  was — in  order  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  their  deliverance  on  that  day  from  Egyp- 
tian  slavery.  For  Moses,  when  he  applies  the  fourth  commandment 
to  the  particular  case  of  his  own  poople,  (Deut.  v.  15,)  does  not  en- 
force it  (as  in  Exod.  xx.  11,)  by  the  consideration  of  God's  resting 
on  the  seventh  day,  which  was  the  Sabbath  of  the  Patriarchs;  but 
binds  it  upon  them  by  saying — "  Remember  that  thou  wast  a  ser- 
vant in  Egypt,  and  that  the  Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out  thence, 
through  a  mighty  hand,  and  by  a  stretched  out  arm;  therefore  the 
Lord  thy  God  hath  commanded  thee  to  keep  this  sabbath  day." — 
KennicoVs  Dissertation  on  Cain  and  Abel,  p.  184. 


126  LECTURESONTHE 


LECTURE  XLIV. 


The  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath  is  to  be  the  subject 
of  the  ensuing  lecture.  On  this  important  topic  our 
Catechism  instructs  us,  that  "  The  Sabbath  is  to  be 
sanctified  by  a  holy  resting  all  that  day,  even  from 
such  worldly  employments  and  recreations  as  are 
lawful  on  other  days;  and  spending  the  whole  time 
in  the  public  and  private  exercises  of  God's  worship, 
except  so  much  as  is  to  be  taken  up  in  the  works  of 
necessity  and  mercy."  And  beside  this  positive  state- 
ment of  the  manner  in  which  the  Sabbath  ought  to 
be  observed,  we  are  taught,  negatively,  that  "  The 
fourth  commandment  forbiddeth  the  omission  or  care- 
less performance  of  the  duties  required,  and  the  pro- 
faning the  day  by  idleness,  or  doing  that  which  is  in 
itself  sinful,  or  by  unnecessary  thoughts,  words,  or 
works,  about  our  worldly  employments  or  recrea- 
tions." 

As  we  can  devote  but  a  single  Lecture  to  the  du- 
ties and  prohibitions  of  the  command  before  us,  we 
shall  take  them  in  connexion;  and  even  when  thus 
taken,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  make  the  discussion  con- 
cise and  summary.  With  a  view  to  this,  I  will  en- 
deavour— 

I.  To  state  the  duties  which  precede,  and  are  pre- 
paratory to,  a  right  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 

IL  The  positive  duties,  and  explicit  prohibitions, 
which  must  be  carefully  regarded  on  the  Sabbath, 
by  those  who  would  obey  the  command  to  keep  it 
holy. 

III.  To  specify  those  "  works  of  necessity  and 
mercy,"  which  may  lawfully  be  performed  on  the 
day  of  sacred  rest. 

A  few  short  remarks,  not  properly  falling  under 
these  heads,  may  be  added,  in  closing  the  Lecture. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  127 

I  am  persuaded,  my  young  friends,  that  the  Sab- 
bath is  profaned  by  many,  through  a  disregard  to  the 
duties  which  ought  to  precede,  and  be  preparatory 
to  its  observance.  "  Six  days  shalt  thou  labour  and 
do  all  thy  work,"  is  as  really  an  injunction  of  the 
fourth  command,  as  is  that  which  requires  the  keep- 
ing holy  of  the  seventh  day:  and  a  disregard  of  this 
part  of  the  precept  leads,  in  many  instances,  to  a  vio- 
lation of  the  other  part.  In  consequence  of  idleness, 
inactivity,  and  a  careless  neglect  of  worldly  affairs, 
during  secular  time,  men  too  often  find  themselves 
tempted  to  attend  to  some  pressing  worldly  avoca- 
tion, which  would  never  have  occurred,  if  it  had  not 
been  occasioned  by  the  want  of  forecast,  diligence, 
and  exertion,  on  the  days  proper  for  servile  labour. 
Did  men  plan  their  business  with  due  reference  to 
the  Sabbath,  and  prepare  for  it  assiduously,  by  doing 
ALL  their  labour  on  six  days  of  the  week,  we  should 
not  so  often  see  the  seventh  improperly  spent.  We 
should  not  hear  so  many  pleas  of  a  necessary  atten- 
tion to  some  urgent  secular  concern,  nor  would  world- 
ly thoughts  and  cares  so  often  intrude  on  the  minds 
of  those  who  feel  the  obligation  of  hallowing  the 
Lord's  day.  It  is  criminal  neglect  in  preparing  for 
the  Sabbath,  which  occasions  much  of  this  lamenta- 
ble evil.  How  often,  for  example,  might  a  trading 
vessel,  without  loss  or  inconvenience,  avoid  leaving 
her  port  on  the  Sabbath,  if  the  owner,  or  master, 
were  as  careful  as  he  ought  to  be,  not  to  trespass  on 
holy  time. 

Some  commentators  I  know  there  are,  who  main- 
tain that  the  part  of  the  fourth  commandment  which 
says  "  six  days  shalt  thou  labour  and  do  all  thy 
work,"  was  intended  merely  to  express  an  allow- 
ance, and  not  to  deliver  an  injunction.  This,  it  ap- 
pears to  me,  is  entirely  without  warrant,  and  in  op- 
position to  the  plain  import  of  the  words.  The  form 
of  expression  which  requires  us  to  "do  all  our  work" 
on  six  secular  days,  is  precisely  the  same  as  that 
which  directs  us  to  rest  on  the  seventh,  except  that 
in  the  former  case  it  is  positive,  and  in  the  latter  ne- 


128  LECTURES     ONTHE 

gative.  The  language  is  imjjeraiive,  and  equally  so 
ill  both  instances;  and  the  one  injunction  seems  to 
be  intended  as  the  exact  opposite  of  the  other.  We 
ought,  therefore,  to  consider  this  part  of  the  precept 
as  expressly  enjoining  diligence  in  our  worldly  busi- 
ness, in  its  proper  season;  as  laying  this  duty  upon 
us  by  Divine  authority,  as  really  and  truly  as  the 
duty  of  keeping  holy  the  Sabbath  day:  and  among 
other  reasons  for  diligence,  an  important  one  is  that 
which  has  already  been  stated — that  we  may  be  well 
prepared  for  the  holy  rest  of  the  Sabbath,  by  having 
all  our  secular  affairs  so  ordered,  that  there  may  then 
be  as  little  occasion,  and  as  little  temptation  as  possi- 
ble, to  act,  or  think,  in  reference  to  any  worldly  con- 
cern. 

It  is,  indeed,  not  only  to  be  admitted,  but  carefully 
kept  in  mind,  that  the  worship  of  God  in  secret,  and 
in  the  family,  is  a  sacred  duty  to  be  performed,  ordi- 
narily, on  every  day;  that  special  seasons  for  thanks- 
giving, and  for  fasting  and  prayer,  ought  likewise,  as 
heretofore  shown,  to  be  occasionally  taken  from  our 
secular  time;  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  there  are 
some  occasions,  on  which  servile  labour  may  and 
ought  to  be  done,  on  the  Sabbath.  But  all  this  is 
perfectly  consistent  with  the  construction  I  have 
given  to  that  part  of  the  precept  now  under  consider- 
ation. The  requisition  to  rest  and  keep  holy  the  Sab- 
bath, is,  you  will  observe,  laid  down  without  any 
qualification,  yet  it  confessedly  admits  of  some  ex- 
ceptions. Then, surely, the  requisition  to  "do  all  our 
work"  on  the  six  days  which  precede  the  Sabbath, 
may,  in  the  same  manner,  admit  of  the  exceptions 
which  have  been  mentioned.  The  truth  is,  that  every 
precept  of  the  Decalogue  was  intended  to  be  as  sum- 
mary as  possible,  and  to  receive  the  necessary  expla- 
nations and  qualifications  from  other  parts  of  the  re- 
i  vealed  will  of  God.  When,  therefore,  it  is  said,  "six 
\  days  shalt  thou  labour  and  do  all  thy  work,"  the 
\  meaning  plainly  is — thou  shalt  not  fail  to  do  all  the 
\  work  which  \s  proper  and  practicable,  to  be  done  on 
'  those  days.     Thus  doing,  therefore,  we  shall  obey 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  1 29 

that  law  of  our  Creator  which  requires  us  to  be  "  dili- 
gent in  business;"  and  at  the  same  time,  we  shall  re- 
move a  temptation  and  hindrance  to  the  keeping 
holy  of  the  Sabbath:  and  if,  in  addition  to  this,  we 
devote,  as  I  have  heretofore  recommended,  the  even- 
ing which  precedes  the  morning  of  the  Lord's  day, 
to  serious  meditation  and  devout  exercises,  we  shall 
make  a  preparation  for  the  right  observance  of  that 
sacred  day,  which  we  may  reasonably  hope  will  be 
attended  by  the  Divine  blessing — enabling  us  to  spend 
our  holy  time  in  a  manner  truly  pleasant  and  profit- 
able to  ourselves,  and  most  pleasing  and  acceptable 
to  "the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath." 

II.  Let  us  now  consider  the  positive  duties,  and  ex- 
plicit prohibitions,  which  must  be  carefully  regarded 
on  the  Sabbath,  by  those  who  would  obey  the  com- 
mand to  keep  it  holy.  Here  let  us  take  the  clauses  of 
the  Catechism  in  order. 

1.  "The  Sabbath  is  to  be  sanctified  by  a  holy  rest- 
ing all  that  day."  Holy  rest  is  a  cessation  from  world- 
ly cares  and  occupations,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  em- 
ploying all  our  faculties  in  sacred  exercises.  If,  when 
we  cease  from  servile  labour,  we  should  be  engaged 
in  no  spiritual  exercises,  you  plainly  perceive  it  would 
not  be  a  holy  rest  that  we  should  enjoy,  but  one  that 
is  merely  animal  or  worldly.  Hence  our  Catechism 
teaches  us,  that  this  commandment  forbids  "  the  pro- 
faning the  day  by  idleness" — ^justly  inculcating  the 
idea,  that  idleness  on  the  Sabbath  is  a  real  profana- 
tion of  holy  time. 

We  do  not  deny,  my  young  friends,  but  explicitly 
maintain  and  inculcate  that,  in  requiring  us  to  sus- 
pend servile  labour  for  a  seventh  part  of  our  time,  it 
was  among  the  benevolent  purposes  of  our  Creator, 
to  consult  the  bodily  health  and  comfort  both  of  man 
and  beast:  and  experience  shows  that  animal  nature 
requires  this,  and  that  those  who  keep  closely  to  the 
revealed  rule,  will,  in  the  end,  gain  much,  and  lose 
nothing  by  the  observance.  Both  they  and  their  cat- 
tle will,  in  the  course  even  of  a  year,  elTect  more  than 
will  be  done  by  those  who  labour  on  the  Sabbath,  and 


130  LECTURES     ON     THE 

thereby  diminish  their  health  and  strength,  and  even 
shorten  their  lives.  He  who  made  man  and  beast, 
knew  what  was  the  portion  of  animal  rest  that  was 
most  conducive  to  the  well  being  of  both;  and  if, 
without  revelation,  physiologists  and  physicians  could 
ever  have  ascertained  this  point,  which  is  very  ques- 
tionable, it  would  have  required  much  time  and  ob- 
servation for  the  purpose.  It  was  therefore  a  most 
cruel,  as  well  as  impious  attempt,  that  was  made  by  the 
French  philosophers  and  legislators,  a  few  years  since, 
to  establish  their  decades,  in  place  of  the  Sabbath — 
allowing  less  time  for  bodily  rest  than  God  has  ap- 
pointed: and  they,  in  our  own  country,  who,  at  the 
present  time,  employ  the  Sabbath  in  servile  labour, 
are  chargeable  with  a  practical  approbation  and  imi- 
tation of  the  atheistic  project  which  was  adopted  in 
France,  and  which,  in  words,  many  of  them  loudly 
condemn.  Nay,  they  go  further  than  the  French  did, 
for  they  provide  for  no  cessation  whatever,  from  those 
bodily  exertions  which  wear  out  the  animal  frame. 
God  has  unquestionably  determined  what  is  the  most 
proper  period  for  relaxation  from  servile  labour,  and 
secular  care;  and  it  is  both  foolish  and  wicked  to  at- 
tempt to  improve  on  his  appointment — to  take  more 
or  less,  than  he  has  ordained. 

But  I  return  from  this  digression,  to  remind  you 
again,  that  rest  is  not  idleness.  In  our  waking  hours 
the  mind,  at  least,  never  is  or  can  be  idle.  And  even 
a  weary  body,  when  in  health,  is  most  relieved  by 
moderate  action,  and  not  by  torpid  stillness.  The 
proper  duties  of  the  Sabbath,  therefore,  which  are 
performed  in  the  domestic  abode,  and  in  going  to  and 
attending  on  public  worship,  are,  in  every  view,  most 
admirably  calculated  to  benefit  both  our  bodies  and 
our  souls.  In  the  case  of  those  whose  occupations 
occasionally  call  them  to  lose  a  portion  of  their  sleep, 
or  to  weary  themselves  beyond  their  strength,  more 
bodily  rest  on  the  Sabbath  may  be  proper,  than  in 
the  case  of  others.  There  is,  however,  much  sin 
committed — very  much — by  those  who,  without  any 
special  necessity,  sleep  longer  on  the  morning  of  the 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  131 

Sabbath,  than  on  any  other  day  of  the  week;  and  by 
many  more,  who  saunter  away,  in  a  khid  of  hstless 
apathy,  many,  if  not  the  whole,  of  those  precious 
hours  which  should  be  diligently  occupied  in  prepar- 
ing for  the  eternal  Sabbath  of  heaven. 

2.  The  next  clause  of  the  first  answer  before  us 
affirms,  that  on  the  Sabbath  we  are  to  abstain  "  even 
from  such  worldly  employments  and  recreations  as 
are  lawful  on  other  days;"  and  the  second  answer 
more  particularly  specifies,  that  the  commandment 
forbids,  not  only  idleness,  but  "  the  doing  of  that 
which  is  in  itself  sinful,  with  all  unnecessary  thoughts, 
words,  or  works,  about  our  worldly  employments  and 
recreations."  Much  of  what  might  properly  be  in- 
troduced here,  has  been  unavoidably  anticipated;  but 
without  repetition,  much  might  be  added.  As,  how- 
ever, I  must  be  brief,  let  me  first  request  you  particu- 
larly to  notice,  that  the  doing  of  that  which  is  in  itself 
sinful,  is  more  sinful,  if  done  on  the  Sabbath,  than  if 
( it  had  been  done  on  any  other  day  of  the  week.  The 
reason  is  most  obvious — two  commands  of  God  are 
violated  by  one  wicked  act.  Never  let  it  be  forgot- 
ten, therefore,  that  he  who  commits  a  known  sin  on 
the  Sabbath,  is  responsible  to  God  for  the  inherent 
guilt  of  that  sin,  aggravated  awfully  by  the  violation 
of  his  holy  day. 

As  to  those  worldly  employments,  or  works,  which 
are  lawful  on  other  days,  but  unlawful  on  the  Sab- 
bath, it  is  neither  practicable  nor  necessary  to  attempt 
to  specify  them  minutely.  They  comprehend  every 
kind,  and  every  act,  of  the  common  business  of  life, 
not  provided  for  in  those  acts  of  necessity  and  mercy, 
which  Vv^e  are  afterward  to  consider.  Few,  indeed, 
there  are,  who  extend  the  rule  as  far,  and  observe  it 
as  strictly,  as  they  ought.  The  greater  part,  even  of 
professing  Christians,  allow  themselves  in  some  things, 
which  it  would  be  hard  for  them  to  show,  that  either 
necessity  or  mercy  demands.  But  I  cannot  pass  from 
this  part  of  the  subject,  without  calling  you  to  deplore 
with  me,  the  open  and  awful  profanation  of  the  Lord's 
day,  which  is  even  enjoined  by  the  laws  of  our  coun- 


132 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


try,  in  requiring  the  transportation  of  the  national 
mail,  and  the  opening  of  the  Post-offices  on  this  holy 
day,  and  thus  setting  the  law  of  the  land  in  direct  op- 
position to  the  law  of  God.  Let  us  pray  that  he  who 
hath  the  hearts  of  all  men  in  his  hands,  may  dispose 
our  legislators  and  rulers  to  remove  this  dreadful  evil, 
so  reproachful  to  us  as  a  people,  and  so  directly  cal- 
culated to  bring  down  the  judgments  of  Almighty 
God  on  our  country. 

But  not  only  servile  labour,  but  recreations  which 
are  lawful  on  other  days,  are  to  be  forborne  on  the 
Sabbath.  In  popish  countries  generally,  a  large  part 
of  holy  time  is  openly  and  avowedly  devoted  to  re- 
creations, many  of  which  are  not  lawful — if  the  law 
of  God  be  the  rule — at  any  time  whatever.  Theatres, 
dances,  bull-baitings,  gambling,  and  indeed  public 
spectacles,  sports,  and  amusements,  of  all  descriptions,* 
are  not  only  tolerated,  but  legalized  and  counte- 
nanced, by  the  highest  authorities,  both  in  church  and 
state.  Do  such  practices  consist  with  remembering 
the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy?  Is  it  not  next  to 
an  absurdity  to  ask  the  question?  Surely  those  who 
do  these  things  can  be  Christians  only  in  name.  In 
deed  and  in  truth,  they  are  the  disciples  of  Antichrist. 
But,  alas!  in  Protestant,  as  well  as  in  Popish  coun- 
tries, our  own  not  excepted,  the  Sabbath  is  shamefully 
and  openly  profaned,  by  the  tolerance,  at  least,  of  re- 
creations, which,  if  lawful  on  other  days,  are  utterly 
inconsistent  with  keeping  holy  the  Sabbath.  The 
running  of  steam-boats  and  stages,  unnecessary  tra- 
velling, and  all  parties  of  pleasure,  dining  parties,  tea 
parties,  and  visiting  of  all  kinds,  except  visiting  the 
sick  and  the  poor — all  the  noisy  and  boisterous  sports 
and  plays,  in  which  the  children  and  youth  of  our 
towns  and  cities  so  freely  indulge  ;  these,  and  things 
like  these,  many  of  which  cannot  be  specified,  are  the 
unlawful  practices  to  which  I  refer.  Against  taking 
any  part,  in  any  of  these  recreations,  my  dear  youth, 
I  caution  you  solemnly.  However  general  and  fash- 
ionable they  may  be,  they  certainly  are  a  dreadful 
profanation  of  the  Lord's  day.   Think  for  yourselves, 


SHORTER     CATECHISM, 


133 


and  you  will  be  convinced,  that  they  do  and  must 
dissipate  all  serious  thought.  Go  from  the  most  so- 
lemn and  affecting  exercises  of  the  house  of  God,  and 
indulge  in  any  of  these  recreations,  and  you  will  find 
that  every  good  impression  will  commonly  vanish  in 
an  hour.  I  really  know  of  nothing  that  can  be  pro- 
perly called  recreations,  that  are  proper  for  the  Sab- 
bath, beyond  taking  a  walk  in  some  retired  place, 
either  solitarily  for  devout  meditation,  or  with  a  Chris- 
tian friend,  for  religious  conversation.  The  appro- 
priate exercises  of  the  Sabbath  are  so  many,  and  with 
those  especially  who  are  favoured  with  a  number  of 
pious  books,  may  be  so  diversified,  that  if  there  be 
only  the  right  temper  of  mind,  the  Sabbath  will  never 
become  tedious,  for  the  want  of  variety  in  its  duties. 
Those  who  think  it  must  be  a  weariness,  if  the  for- 
"bidden  recreations  I  have  mentioned  be  altogether  ex- 
cluded, can  never  be  satisfied,  imless  the  very  spirit 
of  the  command  be  given  up;  and  they  will  of  course 
think  it  a  great  extreme,  when  I  add — 

3.  That  many  words  and  thoughts,  which  are  not 
only  lawful,  but  proper  and  necessary  on  other  days, 
are  unlawful  on  the  Sabbath.  These  words  and 
thoughts  are  such  as  relate  to  those  worldly  employ- 
ments and  recreations,  which  I  have  already  shown 
to  be  prohibited.  It  is  in  this  particular,  that  the  real 
practical  Christian  finds  his  chief  difficulty,  in  keep- 
ing holy  the  Sabbath  day.  It  is  commonly  not  dif- 
ficult for  him — it  even,  in  most  cases,  requires  no  self- 
denial — to  forbear  servile  labour  and  vain  recreations. 
But  suitably  to  "keep  the  door  of  his  lips,"  and  to 
prevent  "vain  thoughts  from  lodging  within  him," 
on  the  Lord's  day,  often  gives  him  serious  trouble, 
and  demands  from  him  much  vigilance.  Here  it  is 
that  he  has  frequent  occasion  to  say  with  the  apostle, 
"  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  me." 
Yet,  whatever  be  the  obstacles,  he  will  steadily  aim 
at  obedience,  and  will  truly  mourn  over  his  defects. 
In  order  to  avoid  improper  conversation,  as  well  as 
for  other  reasons,  I  am  deliberately  of  opinion,  that 
we  ought  to  spend  as  much  of  our  time  as  practica- 


134 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


ble  on  the  Sabbath,  and  when  not  occupied  in  social 
worship,  entirely  by  ourselves.  When  company  is 
promiscuous,  it  is  extremely  difficult  entirely  to  avoid 
improper  conversation;  and  even  when  the  company 
consists  only  of  pious  people,  or  of  the  family  circle, 
we  too  often  insensibly  slide  into  discourse,  or  at 
least  speak  occasionally  on  subjects,  which,  on  reflec- 
tion, we  must  condemn  as  improper.  Solitude  is 
also  most  favourable  to  the  exclusion  of  improper 
thoughts.  Thoughts  are  unavoidably  suggested  to 
our  minds,  though  they  may  not  be  cherished,  by 
what  we  see  and  hear.  We  can  best  command  them 
when  we  are  alone,  and  can  best  indulge  and  pursue 
meditations  that  are  serious  and  edifying.  To  pre- 
vent the  intrusion  of  such  as  are  improper  or  unpro- 
fitable, I  know  of  nothing  better,  than  to  fix  on  some 
topic,  or  text  of  Scripture,  on  the  evening  preceding 
the  Sabbath,  for  tlie  subject  of  meditation,  as  soon  as 
we  shall  awake  in  the  morning,  and  to  fill  up  the  day 
with  a  diligent  and  close  attention  to  its  proper  du- 
ties, private  as  well  as  public.  This  leads  us  to  con- 
sider, 

4.  That  our  whole  time,  on  the  Sabbath,  is  to  be 
spent  in  "  the  public  and  private  exercise  of  God's 
worship,"  with  no  other  exceptions,  than  those  which 
we  are  afterwards  to  notice. 

"  God's  worship,"  you  will  observe,  includes  in  it, 
not  only  acts  of  prayer  and  praise,  in  which  it  im- 
mediately and  more  especially  consists,  but  also  every 
thing  calculated  to  dispose  us  to  those  acts,  and  en- 
able us  to  perform  them  with  enlightened  and  holy 
ardour;  and  indeed,  whatever  has  a  tendency  to  pro- 
mote the  honour  and  glory  of  God. 

The  exercises  suitable  for  the  Sabbath  are  so  many, 
that  I  can  do  little  more  than  name  them,  and  furnish 
you  with  some  hints,  on  which  you  must  enlarge  for 
yourselves. 

1.  Meditation. — This  is  a  duty  too  little  practised, 
or  thought  of,  by  Christians  generally.  The  Psalm- 
ist says — "  My  meditation  of  thee  shall  be  sweet,  I 
will  be  glad  in  the  Lord."     Meditation,  intermingled 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  135 

with  devout  ejaculations  and  aspirations  of  soul,  is 
exemplified  in  many  of  the  Psalms,  and  should  form 
a  part  of  a  Christian's  exercises  on  every  Lord's  day. 
The  subjects  of  meditation  are  the  works,  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  providence  of  God,  his  providence  in 
relation  to  our  own  lot  in  life  particularly,  and  more 
than  all,  the  glorious  plan  of  redemption,  as  a  whole, 
and  in  its  various  parts  and  aspects. 

2.  Self-examination. — This  is  a  duty  which  no 
Christian  should  neglect  on  the  Lord's  day.  He 
should,  if  I  may  so  speak,  setde  his  spiritual  account 
with  himself,  on  the  regular  return  of  this  day.  He 
should  examine,  generally,  whether  he  is  in  a  gra- 
cious state,  consider  whether  he  is  gaining  or  losing 
in  religion;  and  should  particularly  go  over  the  past 
week,  to  mark  his  defects,  to  observe  the  temper  he 
has  been  in,  the  example  he  has  set,  to  repent  of 
what  was  wrong,  and  to  form  good  resolutions  for 
the  future. 

3.  Secret  prayer  and  praise. — Although  no  real 
Christian  can  neglect  secret  prayer,  habitually,  on  any 
day  of  the  week,  yet  he  should  perform  this  duty  more 
frequently,  particularly,  and  extensively,  on  the  Sab- 
bath, than  he  ordinarily  can  on  other  days,  unless 
they  be  days  specially  set  apart  for  the  purpose  of 
prayer.  It  is  in  secret  prayer  and  praise,  that  the 
soul  of  the  believer  holds  converse  and  communion 
with  God;  and  what  so  proper  as  this,  on  the  day 
which  he  claims  as  his  own:  and  when  this  converse 
and  communion  is  very  sensible,  no  exercise  so  fully 
antedates  heaven,  the  sabbatical  "rest  which  remain- 
eth  for  the  people  of  God." 

4.  Reading  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  other  books 
of  devotion. — This,  although  it  should  be,  to  some 
extent,  and  as  circumstances  favour,  an  employment 
of  a  portion  of  our  time  on  other  days,  yet  it  demands 
a  special  attention  on  the  Sabbath.  As  far  as  prac- 
ticable, method  should  be  adopted  in  this,  as  in  every 
other  important  concern.  Let  me  advise  you,  my 
young  friends,  to  confine  yourselves  principally,  if 
not  wholly  to  reading,  studying,  and  meditating,  on 


136  LECTURES    ON    THE 

the  word  of  God,  in  the  former  part  of  his  day;  to 
read  some  sound,  doctrinal  and  practical  writer,  in 
the  latter  part;  and  to  leave  sacred  poetry  (except 
psalms  and  hyms,)  with  religious  periodicals,  to  the 
evening.  By  pursuing  this  course,  you  will  avoid 
the  danger,  which  seems  to  be  real  and  imminent  at 
the  present  time,  that  the  numerous  publications  of  a 
periodical  kind,  will  exclude  almost  every  other  sort 
of  religious  reading.  Should  this  unhappily  be  realiz- 
ed, the  rising  generation,  whatever  zeal  they  may 
possess,  will  be  greatly  deficient  in  that  sound  doc- 
trinal knowledge,  which  is  the  only  sure  basis  of  con- 
sistent, stable  and  exemplary  piety. 

5.  Family  devotion  and  catechetical  instruction. 
Family  devotion,  you  are  aware,consistsof  prayer  and 
praise,  connected  with  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. These  exercises  should, ordinarily, be  somewhat 
more  extended  on  the  Sabbath  than  on  secular  days: 
and  the  reading  of  some  pious  commentator,  such  as 
Henry,  Burkitt,  or  Scott,  on  a  portion  of  the  divine 
word,  will  also  he  profitable.  By  catechetical  instruc- 
tion, I  mean  especially  a  due  attention  to  the  Shorter 
Catechism  of  our  church,  which  every  member  of  the 
family  should  be  able  accurately  to  repeat  without 
book,  and  which  the  younger  members  should  recite, 
and  hear  a  portion  of  it  explained  by  the  head  of  the 
family.  It  will  be  well,  if  they  can  add  the  scripture 
proofs,  and  better  still,  if  they  can  add  to  both  the 
Larger  Catechism.  These  were  once  common  attain- 
,  ments,  in  pious  families  of  our  church;  and  I  am  per- 
suaded that  whatever  has  taken  their  place,  is  not  for 
the  better,  but  the  worse.  But  in  catechetical  instruc- 
tion, I  also  include  a  questioning  of  the  children  of 
the  family,  on  a  previously  prescribed  portion  of  the 
Bible;  requiring  an  account  of  what  other  books  they 
have  read;  and  examining  them,  as  to  what  they 
can  remember  of  the  discourses  they  may  have  heard 
in  public.  It  is  this  family  instruction,  which  must, 
in  most  cases,  be  princij^ally  communicated  and  ac- 
quired on  the  Lord's  day,  and  which  more  than  any 
thing — I  had  almost  said,  more  than  every  thing  be- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  137 

side — contributes  to  raise  up  a  generation  of  well  in- 
formed and  steadfast  Christians.  It  was  this  which 
long  distinguished  the  best  reformed  churches,  and 
for  it,  I  am  persuaded,  no  adequate  substitute  ever 
has  been,  or  will  be  found. 

Public  worship. — This  is  an  important  and  essen- 
tial part  of  the  exercises  of  the  Sabbath,  to  all  who 
can  avail  themselves  of  it.  Alas!  that  there  are  so 
many  parts  of  our  country,  in  which  the  privileges 
of  the  sanctuary  cannot  be  enjoyed.  But  great  is 
the  criminality  of  those  who  neglect  these  privileges, 
when  placed  within  their  power.  The  command  to 
such  is  explicit,  "  Forsake  not  the  assembling  of  your- 
selves together,  as  the  manner  of  some  is;"  and  the 
pretence  too  often  made,  that  the  Sabbath  may  as 
well  be  employed  without  going  to  the  sanctuary,  as 
by  attending  there,  is  utterly  vain  and  inexcusable. 
Nothing  but  the  want  of  health  and  opportunity,  can 
justify  the  omission.  In  religion,  the  blessing  of  God 
is  every  thing,  and  he  will  not  confer  it  on  those  who 
disobey  his  command.  Nor  is  it  a  formal  attendance, 
but  one  truly  devout,  that  God  requires.  We  should, 
in  ordinary  circumstances,  always  make  special  prayer 
for  a  blessing  to  ourselves  and  others  from  the  ser- 
vices of  the  sanctuary,  immediately  before  going  to 
them,  if  this  be  practicable;  and  for  a  blessing  on 
what  we  have  heard,  immediately  on  our  return  to 
our  retirements.  But  although  I  thus  inculcate  the 
duty  of  public  worship,  I  cannot  forbear  to  say,  that 
I  think  there  are  some  Christians,  who  greatly  err,  in 
endeavouring  to  spend  almost  the  whole  of  the  Sab- 
bath in  public.  Much  of  it  should  be  spent  in  pri- 
vate, in  those  exercises  which  I  have  already  speci- 
fied. Two  attendances  on  public  worship  are,  as  a 
habit,  as  many  as  will  be  profitable,  to  those  who 
seek  to  employ  their  holy  time  in  the  most  advanta- 
geous manner. 

Religious  conversation  is  the  last  exercise,  that  1 
shall  mention  as  proper  for  the  Lord's  day.  This 
should  take  place  when  Christian  friends  are  together 
on  this  day,  and  whenever  we  go  to,  or  return  from, 

VOL.  II. — 10 


138  LECTURES     ON     THE 

the  house  of  God  in  company,  unless  we  pass  the 
time  in  silence.  Conversation  on  news,  or  politics, 
or  other  secular  subjects,  though  mournfully  com- 
mon, is  a  real  profanation  of  the  day,  in  any  part  of 
it,  and  peculiarly  so,  immediately  before,  or  after,  the 
services  of  the  sanctuary.  By  this  evil  practice,  all 
serious  thought  and  good  impressions  are  often  pre- 
vented; or  banished  or  effaced,  after  they  have  been 
received.  The  conversation  of  Christian  families, 
while  taking  their  meals  together,  ought  also  to  be 
on  religious  subjects.  Often  a  profitable  topic  may 
be  furnished  by  the  sermons  they  have  heard — not 
however  if  they  be  subjected  to  severe  criticism,  but 
when  so  treated  as  to  impress  the  sacred  truths  which 
have  been  heard  in  public. 

III.  I  will  now,  in  a  few  words,  specify  those 
"works  of  necessity  and  mercy,"  which  may  law- 
fully be  performed  on  the  day  of  sacred  rest. 

By  works  of  necessity,  you  will  be  careful  to  ob- 
serve, we  mean  only  those  which  could  not  be  fore- 
seen and  provided  against  before  the  Sabbath;  or 
those  which,  without  the  most  serious  injury,  cannot 
be  delayed  till  the  Sabbath  is  past.  Some  of  the  most 
common  of  these  are,  flying  from,  and  defending  our- 
selves against  an  enemy;  the  extinguishing  of  fire, 
that  has  broken  out  and  is  destroying  property; 
working  a  ship  at  sea;  doing  what  is  necessary  for 
the  burial  of  the  dead,  when  delay  would  endanger 
the  life  or  health  of  the  living;  stopping  the  progress 
of  an  inundation,  or  securing  property  which  it 
threatens  to  destroy.  Such  are  some  of  the  works  of 
necessity,  and  there  may  be  others  of  a  similar  cha- 
racter. It  is,  however,  of  importance  to  observe,  that 
we  have  no  right  to  provide  against  risks  which  can 
happen  only  in  the  ordinary  course  of  providence; 
and  which  it  is  very  possible  may  never  occur  at  all. 
In  Exod.  xxxiv.  21,  we  have  this  injunction,  "  Six 
days  thou  shalt  work,  but  on  the  seventh  thou  shalt 
rest:  in  earing  time,  and  in  harvest  thou  shalt  rest." 
Here  is  an  explicit  command,  to  forbear  servile  la- 
bour in  seed  time  and  harvest,  as  well  as  at  other 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  139 

times:  because  men  miglit  be  tempted  to  think  that 
they  might  consider  such  labour,  at  these  times,  as  a 
worlc  of  necessity.  But  it  is  not.  All  the  risk  there 
is  of  unfavourable  weather,  is  in  the  ordinary  course 
of  Providence:  the  evil  feared  may  never  happen, 
and  the  apprehension  of  it,  is  not  a  sufficient  reason 
for  violating  the  rest  of  the  Sabbath.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  sending  a  vessel  to  sea,  for  fear  of  a  hin- 
drance by  the  delay  of  a  single  day.  Observation,  I 
am  persuaded,  will  prove,  that  all  descriptions  of  men, 
who  strictly  observe  the  divine  precept  m  regard  to 
the  Sabbath,  will,  in  the  long  run,  consult  their  tem- 
poral interest,  as  well  as  their  Christian  duty.  Defen- 
sive war  is  lawful,  but  it  does  not  warrant  all  kinds 
of  military  operations  on  the  day  of  sacred  rest.  My 
observation  convinces  me  fully,  that  the  frowns  of 
the  God  of  armies  have  often,  and  remarkably,  been 
manifested  toward  those  chieftains  and  their  troops, 
who  have  voluntarily  chosen  to  bring  on  a  decisive 
battle  on  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord.  We  ought  always 
to  keep  in  mind,  that  we  shall  not  be  free  from  guilt 
if,  by  neglect  or  choice,  we  make  the  necessity  which 
we  plead.  This  is  often  done,  in  small  matters,  as 
well  as  in  those  of  magnitude.  It  is  clearly  proper  to 
satisfy  our  hunger,  and  to  make  a  decent  appearance 
in  the  house  of  God,  on  the  Sabbath.  But  much  ser- 
vile labour  is  often  employed  for  these  purposes  on  that 
holy  day,  which  foresight  and  diligence  might  entire- 
ly prevent.  The  necessary  food  for  a  family  may  be 
so  far  prepared,  and  all  that  pertains  to  dress,  and  to 
personal  decency  and  comfort,  may  be  so  ordered, 
that  very  little  shall  remain  to  demand  labour,  or 
occupy  time  or  thought,  on  the  Lord's  day. 

Acts  of  mercy  are  such  as  are  performed  in  visiting 
and  relieving  the  sick  and  the  poor;  preparing  food 
for  a  temperate  repast  for  ourselves;  feeding  and 
taking  care  of  cattle,  and  relieving  them  when  their 
lives  are  endangered;  making  collections  for  the 
poor,  and  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel;  and  do- 
ing all  that  could  not  previously  be  done,  to  render 
ourselves  comfortable  in  our  habitations,  so  that  we 


140  LECTURES    ON    THE 

may  attend  to  sacred  duties  with  satisfaction  and  full 
effect.  These  are  the  principal  acts  of  mercy;  but  it 
is  scarcely  practicable,  either  in  this  particular  or  in 
that  which  immediately  precedes  it,  to  make  the  spe- 
cification complete.  Nor  is  it  necessary.  A  truly 
conscientious  person  will  be  a  law  to  himself,  in  re- 
gard to  these  things.  He  will,  in  cases  novel  and 
extraordinory,  judge  by  analogy;  and  will  always  be 
more  solicitous  to  have  a  conscience  entirely  void  of 
offence,  by  keeping  within  the  questionable  limit,  than 
to  subject  himself  to  doubt  and  apprehension  by  go- 
ing beyond  it. 

I  am  now  to  close  this  protracted  lecture,  by  mak- 
ing a  few  short  remarks,  which  could  not  be  so  pro- 
perly introduced  in  the  previous  discussion. 

1.  It  is  deserving  of  notice,  that  the  fourth  com- 
mandment begins  in  a  manner  different  from  all  the 
rest.  It  is  introduced  with  the  emphatic  word  re- 
member. For  this  there  was  doubtless  a  special 
reason,  and  I  know  not  how  it  can  be  better  stated, 
than  in  the  words  of  our  Larger  Catechism.  That 
Catechism  says: 

"  The  word  reme^inher  is  set  in  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth  commandment,  partly  because  of  the  great 
benefit  of  remembering  it,  we  being  thereby  helped 
in  our  preparation  to  keep  it;  and,  in  keeping  it,  better 
to  keep  all  the  rest  of  the  commandments,  and  to 
continue  a  thankful  remembrance  of  the  two  great 
benefits  of  creation  and  redemption,  which  contain  a 
short  abridgment  of  religion;  and  partly  because  we 
are  ready  to  forget  it,  for  that  there  is  less  light  of 
nature  for  it,  and  yet  it  restraineth  our  natural  liberty 
in  things  at  other  times  lawful;  that  it  cometh  but 
once  in  seven  days,  and  many  worldly  businesses 
come  between,  and  too  often  take  off  our  minds  from 
thinking  of  it,  either  to  prepare  for  it,  or  to  sanctify 
it;  and  that  Satan  with  his  instruments  much  labour 
to  blot  out  the  glory,  and  even  the  memory  of  it,  to 
bring  in  all  irreligion  and  impiety." 

Every  clause  of  this  pregnant  answer,  deserves  to 
be  distinctly  meditated  on,  and  kept  in  mind. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  141 

2.  It  is  further  worthy  of  remark,  that  this  precept 
is  directed  to  those  who  have  the  charge  of  others — 
to  parents,  and  to  superiors  generally.  The  reason 
of  this  also,  shall  be  given  from  the  Larger  Catechism. 

"  The  charge  of  keeping  the  Sabbath  is  more  spe- 
cially directed  to  governors  of  families  and  other  su- 
periors, because  they  are  bound  not  only  to  keep  it 
themselves,  but  to  see  that  it  be  observed  by  all  those 
that  are  under  their  charge;  and  because  they  are  prone 
ofttimes  to  hinder  them,  by  employments  of  their 
own." 

I  will  just  add  to  this,  that  magistrates,  who  are 
set  to  execute  the  laws,  and  are  sworn  to  do  so  with 
fidelity,  have  a  dreadful  responsibility,  when  they 
suffer  the  enactments  of  the  state  against  Sabbath 
profanation,  to  be  grossly  and  flagrantly  violated  in 
their  very  presence,  and  permit  the  whole  to  pass 
without  notice.  What  then  shall  be  said,  if  they 
themselves  are  among  the  chief  transgressors,  and 
thus  not  only  sin  themselves,  but  encourage  others  by 
their  impious  example! 

3.  Finally — We  are  taught  to  expect  that  those  who 
truly  obey  this  precept,  have  reason  to  hope  for  pecu- 
liar spiritual  communications  on  the  Sabbath;  and  for 
the  blessing  of  God  on  the  whole  of  their  labours 
through  the  ensuing  week.  "  I  was  in  the  spirit  on  the 
Lord's  day,"  is  the  declaration  of  the  apostle  John,  in 
describing  at  what  time,  and  in  what  circumstances,  he 
received  his  revelations;  and  we  have  heretofore  had 
occasion  to  remark,  that  the  blessings  of  Pentecost 
were  conferred  on  the  Sabbath;  and  that  in  every  age, 
the  people  of  God  have  found  this  day  the  season  of 
their  sweetest  communion  with  their  God  and  Savi- 
our; as  well  as  that  on  which  the  blessings  of  redemp- 
tion are  most  commonly  and  largely  extended  to 
perishing  sinners.  These  surely  are  considerations, 
which  should  induce  those  who  regard  the  salvation 
of  the  soul  as  the  most  important  of  all  concerns,  and 
the  light  of  God's  countenance  as  the  supreme  hap- 
piness of  life,  to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day,  with  all 


142  LECTURES     ON     THE 

the  vigilance  and  strictness  that  has  been  recom- 
mended. 

Worldly  prosperity  too,  which  always  ultimately 
depends  on  the  blessing  of  God  and  the  favourable 
order  of  his  providence,  is,  we  have  every  reason  to 
believe,  connected  with  hallowing  the  day  of  God, 
both  by  nations  and  by  individuals.  We  need  seek 
no  further  for  the  ultimate  cause  of  the  many  cala- 
mities which  afflict  nations  denominated  Christian, 
than  their  notorious  profanation  of  the  Sabbath  of  the 
Lord;  and  in  these  calamities  our  own  nation  has  to 
expect  a  large  share,  if  it  shall  follow,  as  there  is  too 
much  reason  to  fear  it  will,  the  bad  example  which 
so  generally  prevails  in  European  Christendom. 

In  relation  to  individuals,  I  will  only  state  the  so- 
lemn declaration  of  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  chief  justices  that  England  has 
ever  produced.  It  is  to  this  effect — that  his  worldly 
concerns  were  prosperous  or  otherwise,  throughout 
the  week,  Justin  proportion  to  his  right  observance 
of  the  previous  Sabbath:  And  he  declares  that  he  says 
this,  not  lightly,  but  as  the  result  of  long  and  careful 
observation.  Let  infidels  and  profligates  sneer  at 
this,  as  they  will;  but  do  you,  my  young  friends,  re- 
gard it  as  the  testimony  of  a  man  distinguished  equally 
for  strength  of  mind,  for  deep  and  various  learning, 
and  for  eminent  evangelical  piety.  *'  The  secret  of 
the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him;  and  he  will 
show  them  his  covenant." 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  143 


LECTURE  XLV. 


In  the  present  lecture  we  are  to  consider  the  rea- 
sons annexed  to  the  fourth  commandment,  which 
are — "  God's  allowing  us  six  days  of  the  week  for 
our  own  employment,  his  challenging  a  special  pro- 
priety in  the  seventh,  his  own  example,  and  his  bless- 
ing the  Sabbath  day." 

So  much  that  in  strictness  belongs  to  this  answer 
of  the  Catechism  has  been  unavoidably  anticipated, 
that  little  remains  to  be  added  to  what  has  been  here- 
tofore said. 

We  have  already  remarked,  that  the  precept  be- 
fore us  is  introduced  in  a  singular  manner  by  the 
word  Bememher:  and  you  will  now  notice,  that  it  is 
enforced  by  more,  reasons  than  are  attached  to  any 
other  command  of  the  Decalogue.  From  this  it  is 
evident  that  God  foresaw,  what  has  always  been  wit- 
nessed, that  mankind,  corrupted  and  debased  by  sin, 
would  be  prone  either  entirely  to  forget  the  day  of 
holy  rest,  or  to  disregard  the  duties  which  belong  to 
it;  and  that,  at  the  same  time,  he  intended  to  teach 
us,  by  the  special  guards  placed  around  this  precept, 
that  its  due  observance  is  highly  important,  and  that 
the  sin  of  transgressing  it  is  entirely  inexcusable. 

Of  the  four  reasons  annexed  to  the  commandment, 
the  first  is,  that  God  has  "  allowed  us  six  days  of  the 
week  for  our  own  employment."  This,  we  have  al- 
ready had  occasion  to  observe,  is  as  large  an  appor- 
tionment of  time  for  uninterrupted  servile  labour,  as 
comports  with  the  vigorous  and  healthful  state  either 
of  man  or  beast.  Time,  like  every  thing  else  we  en- 
joy, is  the  gift  of  God ;  and  when,  in  making  this  gift, 
he  has  bestowed  as  liberal  a  portion  for  our  employ- 
ment in  worldly  concerns,  as  is  consistent  with  our 
own  comfort  and  happiness,  even  in  the  present  life, 


144  LECTURES      ON     THE 

we  surely  have  reason,  not  only  to  be  satisfied,  but 
thankful  also,  to  the  bountiful  giver  of  all  good.  Had 
he  claimed  a  larger  portion  for  his  immediate  wor- 
ship, we  should  have  had  no  cause  to  complain;  but 
when  he  has  taken  no  more  than  is  most  in  accord- 
ance with  our  own  advantage,  his  claim  to  this  is 
manifestly  supported  and  sanctioned,  not  merely  by 
authority,  but  likewise  by  every  principle  of  reason, 
and  every  sentiment  of  gratitude.  How  unworthily 
of  a  rational,  moral,  and  accountable  being,  does  that 
man  act,  who  refuses  to  yield  a  seventh  part  of  his 
time  to  the  God  who  gave  him  the  whole;  and  from 
whose  bounty  and  beneficence  he  derives  every  pre- 
sent enjoyment,  and  every  future  hope ! 

The  second  reason  for  the  observance  of  the  day 
of  sacred  rest  is,  that  God  challenges  it  as  exclusive- 
ly his  own — or,  in  the  language  of  our  Catechism, 
"  as  having  a  special  propriety  in  it."  Here  the  au- 
thority of  the  Supreme  Lawgiver  is  introduced.  Our 
Creator  sustains  to  us,  his  reasonable  creatures,  the 
twofold  character  of  a  Parent  and  a  Sovereign;  and 
in  both  these  characters  he  often  addresses  us  in  his 
holy  word.  In  the  command  before  us,  after  meting 
out  to  us,  for  our  own  use,  six  secular  days,  he  says, 
"  But  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord 
thy  God."  Here  is  a  clear  statement  of  a  reserva- 
tion— an  appropriation  of  time  to  himself,  on  which 
no  human  being  who  hears  this  command  can  tres- 
pass, without  gross  presumption  and  high  crimina- 
lity. If  you  live,  my  dear  youth,  to  have  families  of 
your  own,  and  any  of  those  of  whom  you  have  the 
charge  shall  ask  your  consent  to  employ  the  Sabbath 
improperly,  tell  them  that  what  they  ask  is  not  yours 
to  give,  nor  theirs  to  take.  Tell  them  that  it  is  God's 
time  that  they  ask,  and  that  he  has  appropriated  it  to 
a  use  which  no  mortal  has  a  right  to  change,  or  to 
alienate.  Oh  that  men  would  remember,  that  the 
unnecessary  employment  of  their  time  in  worldly 
employments  and  recreations,  is  a  species  of  sacri- 
lege. It  is  impiously  seizing  on  property  which  the 
Sovereign  of  the  universe  has  set  apart  for  his  own 


SHORTER      CATECHISM. 


145 


sacred  use.  So  that,  with  the  most  emphatic  pro- 
priety, the  language  of  the  Most  High,  by  the  pro- 
phet Malachi,  may  be  addressed  to  all  Sabbath  break- 
ers— "Will  a  man  rob  God!  yet  ye  have  robbed 
me!" 

The  third  reason  for  keeping -holy  the  Sabbath  day 
is,  the  example  of  God  himself.  "  In  six  days  the 
Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea  and  all  that  in 
them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day.^' — "  God  was 
six  days  in  making  the  world;  whereas,  had  he  pleas- 
ed, he  could  have  created  all  things  with  the  same 
beauty  and  perfection  in  which  they  are  at  present, 
in  an  instant:  but  he  performed  this  work  by  degrees, 
that  he  might  teach  us  that  what  our  hand  finds  to 
do,  we  should  do  it  in  the  proper  season  allotted  for 
it;  and  as  he  ceased  from  his  work  on  the  seventh 
day,  he  requires  that  we  should  rest  from  ours,  in 
conformity  to  his  own  example."* 

How  often,  my  young  friends,  have  you  heard  the 
remark,  that  example  teaches  more  powerfully  than 
precept.  Now,  if  there  is  something  in  the  example 
of  eminently  wise  and  holy  men,  which  induces  us  to 
imitate  them  without  hesitation,  on  the  presumption 
that  a  rule  of  conduct  which  they  have  adopted  must 
be  right  and  important,  how  much  more  powerfully 
ought  this  principle  to  operate,  when  the  infinitely 
wise  and  holy  God  sets  an  example  before  us,  ex- 
pressly for  our  imitation.  We  know  at  once  and  as- 
suredly, that  whatever  he  has  done  is,  in  the  highest 
degree,  both  right  and  important.  Yet  in  the  case 
now  in  view,  we  are  able  to  see,  and  we  have  seen, 
the  reasonableness  and  propriety  of  the  Divine  order; 
and  when  to  this  we  add,  that  in  a  holy  resting  on 
the  Sabbath,  God  calls  us  to  act  as  he  has  acted  be- 
fore us — calls  us  to  be  imitators  of  him  as  dear  chil- 
dren— what  a  powerful  appeal  does  it  make  to  our 
sense  of  duty,  to  filial  feeling,  and  to  a  holy  aspiring 
to  act,  in  our  humble  measure,  like  the  greatest  and 
best  of  all  beings?  In  his  sermon  on  the  mount,  our 
Saviour  pressed  on  his  disciples,  as  a  powerful  mo- 

*  Ridgley. 


146  LECTURES    ON    THE 

live,  the  imitation  of  their  heavenly  Father — the 
proving  themselves  to  be  his  children,  by  acts  of  good- 
ness similar  to  his  own. 

The  fourth  and  last  reason  annexed  to  this  com- 
mandment is,  "  God's  blessing  the  Sabbath  day." 
"The  Lord,"  says  the  precept,  "  blessed  the  Sabbath 
day  and  hallowed  it,"  We  have  seen,  in  a  former 
lecture,  in  what  manner  God  has  hallowed  the  Sab- 
bath; that  is,  has  set  the  seventh  day  apart  from  a 
common  to  a  sacred  use.  "  To  bless  a  day,"  says 
Ridgley,  "  is  to  give  it  to  us  as  a  particular  blessing 
and  privilege.  Accordingly  we  ought  to  reckon  the 
Sabbath  as  a  great  instance  of  God's  care  and  com- 
passion to  men;  and  a  very  great  privilege,  which 
ought  to  be  highly  esteemed  by  them."  Think,  my 
young  friends,  of  the  Father  of  mercies  as  an  infinite- 
ly powerful  and  munificent  Benefactor,  who  has  the 
richest  favours  to  confer — blessings  to  grant  of  inesti- 
mable value  to  the  children  of  men;  blessings,  the  re- 
cipients of  which  will  be  made  happy  for  time  and 
eternity;  and  the  want  of  which,  nmst  render  those 
who  want  them  for  ever  and  inconceivably  misera- 
ble and  wretched.  Think  of  (his  Almighty  Benefac- 
tor, not  indeed  as  limiting  himself  to  any  specified 
times  in  the  bestowing  of  his  invaluable  favours,  but 
yet  as  having  appointed  every  seventh  day  of  human 
existence  as  a  special  season,  in  which  his  choicest 
blessings  are  most  commonly  and  most  abundantly 
showered  down,  on  those  who  sacredly  devote  that 
day  to  seeking  them,  for  themselves  and  others. 
Think  thus,  and  then  estimate,  if  you  can,  the  advan- 
tage of  the  Sabbath  to  those  who  rightly  regard  it, 
and  the  loss  and  the  guilt  of  those  who  slight  and 
profane  it.  The  one  party  go,  as  it  were,  to  meet 
their  God  on  his  own  appointment,  to  receive  his 
blessings;  the  other  party  disregard  and  despise  his 
appointment;  and  practically  declare  that  they  re- 
gard his  richest  gifts  as  not  worth  the  asking  for,  and 
their  possession  as  not  worth  the  having.  They  pre- 
fer the  creature  to  the  Creator,  sensual  indulgence  to 
spiritual  delights,  time  to  eternity,  and  earth  to  hea- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM, 


147 


ven.  Yes,  verily,  and  abiding  by  this  impious  pre- 
ference, they  will  be  doomed  to  take  the  choice  which 
their  folly  and  wickedness  have  made.  In  speech- 
less confusion,  they  will  see  themselves  hopelessly 
and  eternally  denied  the  heavenly  felicities  which 
they  refused  to  seek  and  accept;  and  to  share  in  the 
endless  wailings  of  those  who  have  rejected  the  coun- 
sels of  a  merciful  God  against  their  own  souls. 

In  closing  the  discussion  on  this  commandment,  I 
would  remark  that  I  have  only  followed  the  exam- 
ple of  its  divine  Author,  in  treating  the  subject  of  it 
more  particularly  than  I  have  treated,  or  shall  treat, 

,  any  other  precept  of  the  inspired  moral  code.  In  my 
most  deliberate  judgment,  I  am  convinced  that  the 
religious  observance  of  the  Lord's  day  is  essentially 

I  connected  with  vital  piety.  No  Sabbath,  no  religion, 
is  a  maxim  which  you  may  safely  apply,  both  to  in- 
dividuals and  to  communities.  Show  me  a  family,  a 
neighbourhood,  a  village,  a  region  of  country,  or  a 
nation,  in  which  there  is  no  Sabbath,  and  you  show 
me  one  in  which,  if  there  be  a  few  individuals  who 
possess  genuine  piety,  their  number  shall  be  found  too 
small  to  save  any  of  these  associations  from  being 
justly  esteemed,  in  their  collective  capacity,  as  desti- 
tute of  religion.  And  as  to  the  truly  pious  indi- 
viduals among  them,  you  shall  invariably  find  them 
observers  of  the  Sabbath,  although,  like  Lot  in  Sodom, 
"  having  their  righteous  souls  vexed  from  day  to  day, 
with  seeing  and  hearing  the  unlawful  deeds"  of  those 
among  whom  they  dwell.  I  am  well  aware  that 
there  are  denominations  of  Christians  who  deny  alto- 
gether the  moral  obligation  of  the  fourth  command- 
ment; nor  am  I  prepared,  although  I  think  them  in 
grievous  error,  to  reject  them  indiscriminately  from 
my  charity.  The  maxim  I  have  stated  does  not 
require  this.  Attentive  observation  has  convinced 
me,  and  I  think  will  convince  any  one,  that  the  truly 
pious  part  of  these  denominations  do,  in  fact,  observe 
a  Sabbath  ;  they  always  have  set  seasons  consecrated 
to  devotion;  and  if,  as  is  commonly  the  case,  they 
live  in  a  community  in  which  a  weekly  Sabbath  is 


148  LECTURES      ON     THE 

generally  held  sacred,  they  rejoice  in  its  return,  and 
engage  in  its  holy  duties  with  delight. 

The  very  truth  is,  a  life  of  communion  with  God 
cannot  be  maintained  without  frequent  exercises  of 
devotion,  considerably  prolonged.  And  all  who  lead 
such  a  life  do,  and  will,  avail  themselves  of  every 
season  that  is  favourable,  for  the  practice  and  cultiva- 
tion of  that  in  which  they  find  their  highest  enjoy- 
ment. If,  therefore,  my  young  friends,  you  intend  to 
lead  a  life  of  practical  godliness,  whatever  may  be 
the  practice  or  pretence  of  others,  be  it  your  care,  to 
"Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy," 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  149 


LECTURE  XLVI. 


We  are  now  to  enter  on  the  consideration  of  the  du- 
ties enjoined  in  the  second  table  of  the  Decalogue — 
the  duties  that  we  owe  to  our  neighbour  and  to  our- 
l  selves.  And  it  may  be  proper  here  to  remark,  once 
I  for  all,  that  no  precept  of  the  second  table  can  ever 
?  oblige  us  to  set  aside  one  of  the  first.  Our  duty  to 
our  Creator  is  superior  to  every  other;  so  that, 
strictly  speaking,  nothing  is,  or  can  be  a  duty,  which 
is  dishonourable  to  him,  or  which  interferes  with  the 
service  or  obedience  that  he  requires.  If,  therefore, 
earthly  parents,  or  magistrates,  or  other  superiors,  or 
laws,  or  usages  of  what  kind  soever,  shall  at  anytime 
urge  you,  my  dear  youth,  to  disobey  or  dishonour 
your  heavenly  Father,  the  Sovereign  of  the  universe, 
your  reply  must  be,  "We  must  obey  God  rather  than 
man."  Make  your  refusal  as  meekly  and  discreetly, 
and  in  every  way  as  inoffensively  as  you  can;  but 
make  it — make  it  firmly,  and  in  the  strength  of  God, 
maintain  it  even  unto  death.  This  is  the  principle  on 
which  confessors  have  always  hazarded  their  lives, 
and  martyrs  have  laid  them  down. 

The  first  precept  in  the  second  table  of  the  moral 
law,  or  the  fifth  of  the  Decalogue,  with  its  require- 
ments and  prohibitions,  as  stated  in  our  Catechism, 
are  as  follows — "Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother; 
that  thy  days  may  be  long  upon  the  land  which  the 
Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee." 

"  The  fifth  commandment  requireth  the  preserving 
the  honour  and  performing  the  duties,  belonging  to 
every  one  in  their  several  places  and  relations,  as  su- 
periors, inferiors,  or  equals:"  and  it  "  forbiddeth  the 
neglecting  of,  or  doing  any  thing  against  the  honour 
and  duty,  which  belongeth  to  everyone  in  their  seve- 
ral places  and  relations." 


1 50  LECTURES     ON     THE 

I  have  placed  the  injunctions  and  prohibitions  of 
this  commandment  together,  and  shall  consider  them 
connectedly,  as  being  most  favourable  to  the  avoid- 
ance of  repetition,  and  to  a  clear  and  full  view  of  the 
duties  to  be  explained  and  enforced. 

We  have  in  the  precept  before  us  a  striking  exam- 
ple of  the  specification  of  a  single  relative  duty — that 
which  children  owe  to  their  parents — as  indicative  of 
every  other  of  the  same  class.  That  the  precept 
ought  to  be  thus  considered  is  apparent;  since  all  re- 
lative duties  are  made  obligatory  in  the  revealed  will 
of  God,  and  this  table  of  the  moral  law  was  intended 
to  epitomise  them  all,  and  the  fifth  commandment 
alone  enjoins  one  of  the  most  important  of  these  du- 
ties, in  a  positive  form;  the  others  only  specifying 
and  forbidding  the  various  violations  of  this  general 
law. 

The  answers  of  the  Catechism  now  under  conside- 
ration, distribute  "  the  places  and  relations"  of  men 
in  society  into  three  classes — "  superiors,  inferiors, 
and  equals."  All  who  are  included  in  these  classes 
have,  we  are  taught,  a  claim  to  "honour,"  which  is 
to  be  "  preserved;"  and  to  duties,  the  performance  of 
which  is  obligatory  on  them  all.  These  duties  are 
mutual,  or  correlative;  and  as  such  we  shall  consider 
them,  as  they  appertain  to  each  of  the  classes  that 
have  been  mentioned;  and, 

I.  The  honour  to  be  preserved,  and  the  mutual  or 
correlative  duties  to  be  performed,  by  superiors  and 
INFERIORS,  refer  to  the  places  and  relations  of  hus- 
bands and  wives,  parents  and  children,  masters  and 
servants,  ministers  and  people,  rulers  and  ruled, 
old  and  young,  and  the  possessors  of  superior  and 
inferior  gifts  and  graces.  In  all  these  relations  there 
is  a  subordination  of  rank  or  character,  which  is 
clearly  recognized  in  the  scriptures  of  truth.  The 
duties  of  each  might  occupy  a  whole  lecture,  but  I 
must  treat  of  them  in  a  much  more  brief  and  sum- 
mary manner;  paying  some  regard,  however,  in  the 
extent  of  the  discussion,  to  the  nature  and  import- 
ance of  each  subject,  as  it  comes  under  consideration. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  151 

1.  Of  Husbands  and  JVives. — This  relation  is  con- 
stituted by  marriage,  in  regard  to  which  the  stan- 
dards of  our  church  teach,  that  "marriage  is  not  a 
sacrament,  nor  pecuhar  to  the  church  of  Christ;  that 
it  is  to  be  between  one  man  and  one  woman;  neither 
is  it  lawful  for  any  man  to  have  more  than  one  wife, 
nor  for  any  woman  to  have  more  than  one  husband, 
at  the  same  time;  that  it  was  ordained  for  the  m,u.tual 
help  of  husband  and  wife,  for  the  increase  of  man- 
kind with  a  legitimate  issue,  and  of  the  churcli  with 
a  lioly  seed,  and  for  the  preventing  of  uncleanness; 
that  it  is  lawful  for  all  sorts  of  people  to  marry,  who 
are  able  with  judgment  to  give  their  consent,  yet  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  Christians  to  marry  only  in  the  Lord; 
and  therefore  that  such  as  are  godly,  ought  not  to  be 
unequally  yoked,  by  marrying  with  such  as  are  no- 
toriously wicked  in  their  lives,  or  that  maintain 
damnable  heresies;  that  marriage  ought  not  to  be 
within  the  degrees  of  consanguinity  or  affinity  forbid- 
den in  the  word  of  God;  and  that  such  incestuous 
marriages  can  never  be  made  lawful  by  any  law  of 
man,  or  consent  of  parties,  so  as  that  those  persons 
may  live  together  as  man  and  wife;  that  the  man 
may  not  marry  any  of  his  wife's  kindred  nearer  in 
blood  than  he  may  of  his  own,  nor  the  woman  of  her 
husband's  kindred  nearer  in  blood  than  of  her  own; 
that  fornication  committed  after  contract,  and  before 
marriage,  and  adultery  committed  after  marriage, 
give  just  occasion  to  the  innocent  party  to  dissolve 
the  contract,  and  after  the  divorce  to  marry  another, 
as  if  the  offending  party  were  dead;  that  nothing  but 
adultery,  or  such  wilful  desertion  as  can  no  way  be 
remedied  by  the  church  or  civil  magistrate,  is  cause 
sufficient  for  dissolving  the  bond  of  marriage;  that  it 
is  proper  that  every  commonwealth,  for  the  good  of 
society,  make  laws  to  regulate  marriage,  which  all 
citizens  are  bound  to  obey;  that  it  is  fit  that  marriage 
be  solemnized  by  a  lawful  minister,  and  that  special 
instruction  be  given  to  the  parties,  and  suitable 
prayer  be  made,  when  they  enter  into  this  relation; 
that  if  the  parties  be  under  age,  or  live  with  their 


152  LECTURES     ON    THE 

parents,  the  consent  of  the  parents,  or  of  others  under 
whose  care  they  are,  ought  to  be  previously  obtain- 
ed; that  parents  ought  neither  to  compel  their  chil- 
dren to  marry  contrary  to  their  inclination,  nor  deny 
their  consent,  without  just  and  important  reasons; 
that  ministers  must  be  properly  certified,  with  respect 
to  the  parties  applying  to  them,  that  no  just  objec- 
tions lie  against  their  marriage;  that  it  must  always 
be  performed  before  a  competent  number  of  witness- 
es; that  it  ought  not  to  be  celebrated  on  a  day  of 
public  humiliation,  and  that  it  is  not  advisable  that  it 
be  on  the  Lord's  day."* 

I  have  quoted  thus  largely  from  the  standards  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  on  the  subject  of  marriage, 
because  the  subject  is  highly  important  in  itself,  is 
not  treated  of  elsewhere  in  tlie  Catechism,  and  espe- 
cially because  the  duties  of  husbands  and  wives — the 
point  immediately  under  discussion — are,  to  a  consid- 
erable extent,  indicated  by  the  very  nature  and  de- 
sign of  the  marriage  covenant.  Let  me  now  call  your 
attention  to  the  following  passage  of  sacred  Scripture 
— "  Wives  submit  yourselves  unto  your  own  hus- 
bands as  unto  the  Lord.  For  the  husband  is  the  head 
of  the  wife,  even  as  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church. 
Therefore,  as  the  church  is  subject  unto  Christ,  so  let 
the  wives  be  to  their  own  husbands  in  every  thing. 
Husbands  love  your  wives,  even  as  Christ  also  loved 
the  church  and  gave  himself  for  it.  So  ought  men  to 
love  their  wives  as  their  own  bodies;  he  that  loveth 
his  wife  loveth  himself  For  no  man  ever  yet  hated 
his  own  flesh,  but  nourisheth  and  cherisheth  it  even 
as  the  Lord  the  church.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man 
leave  his  father  and  his  mother,  and  shall  be  joined 
unto  his  wife,  and  they  two  shall  be  one  flesh.  Let 
every  one  of  you  in  particular,  so  love  his  wife  even 
as  himself;  and  the  wife  see  that  she  reverence  her 

*  See  Confession  of  Faith,  chap,  xxiv.  and  Directory  for  Worship, 
chap.  xi.  A  few  words  have  been  changed  or  added,  to  give  uni- 
formity and  propriety  to  the  statement;  but  the  sense  is  not  altered, 
and  so  little  of  the  language,  that  it  may  be  fairly  considered  as  a 
quotation. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  153 

husband."  Who  can  fail  to  perceive  the  wisdom  of 
these  divine  injunctions,  and  to  confess  that  when 
they  are  duly  regarded  the  conjugal  relation  must  be 
productive  of  peculiar  happiness.^  The  wife  is  made 
subject  to  her  husband,  but  it  is  only  that  kind  of  sub- 
jection which  the  church  is  under  to  Christ,  or  that 
which  the  members  of  the  body  yield  to  the  head. 
The  husband  is  to  love  his  wife  as  a  part  of  himself, 
and  as  Christ  loved  the  church.  He  is  to  be  as  far  from 
indulging  hatred  toward  her,  as  he  is  from  hating  his 
own  flesh.  His  superiority,  while  it  demands  rever- 
ence on  her  part,  imposes  on  him  an  obligation  and 
,  responsibiUty  of  kindness,  and  of  every  endearing  at- 
tention. If  the  parties  mutually  perform  their  duties, 
the  situation  of  both,  so  far  from  being  irksome,  may 
well  give  rise  to  the  question,  which  is  the  happier — 
or  whose  is  the  preferable  allotment?  With  right  feel- 
ings, neither  will  so  much  as  wish  for  a  change.  They 
will  feel  that  they  were  made  for  each  other,  and  that 
each  is  in  the  place  and  relation  which  the  God  of 
wisdom  and  benevolence  has  appointed. 

The  passage  of  Scripture  recited,  teaches  that  every 
other  relation  of  life,  when  it  interferes  with  that 
which  subsists  between  husband  and  wife,  is  to  be 
relinquished.  If  they  are  faithful  to  each  other,  no- 
thing but  death  is  to  separate  them.  "  The  funda- 
mental and  essential  part  of  the  contract  is  fidelity 
and  chastity.  This  must  immediately  appear  to  be 
essential  to  the  purpose  of  the  union.  Some  writers 
say,  that  this  is  especially  binding  on  the  woman,  in 
order  to  ascertain  the  offspring:  but  every  body  must 
see  the  absurdity  of  any  distinction;  because  the  con- 
tract would  neither  be  equal,  nor  likely  to  be  steadily 
observed,  if  it  were  not  mutual.  Besides,  as  a  late 
author  has  well  observed,  if  chastity  be  a  female  vir- 
tue, how  can  man  be  unchaste  without  infringing 
upon  it."*  Nothing  strikes  so  directly  at  the  very 
vitals,  not  only  of  domestic  happiness,  but  of  society 
at  large,  or  marks  so  distinctly  a  corrupt  state  of  so 

*  Witherspoon. 
VOL.  II. — 11 


154  LECTURES    ON    THE 

ciety  itself,  as  general  licentiousness  in  the  marriage 
state.  Every  lover  of  human  happiness,  therefore, 
should  brand  the  first  appearance  of  this  licentious- 
ness with  tokens  of  the  greatest  abhorrence;  and  every 
married  man  and  woman  should  regard  the  first  rising 
thought  of  it  in  themselves,  as  a  heinous  sin  before  the 
heart  searching  God,  and  as  a  real  violation  of  the 
marriage  covenant — to  be  repented  of  with  the  deep- 
est humiliation,  and  avoided  with  the  utmost  care. 

The  other  duties  of  husbands  and  wives,  beside 
those  which  have  been  mentioned,  are — bearing  with 
each  other's  infirmities  and  weaknesses,  to  which  hu- 
man nature,  in  its  present  state,  is  always  subject; 
encouraging  and  sustaining  each  other  under  the  va- 
rious ills  of  life;  comforting  and  sedulously  endea- 
vouring to  relieve  each  other  in  sickness;  providing, 
by  honesty,  industry,  and  economy,  for  their  own 
support,  and  that  of  their  family;  making  their  inte- 
rest and  their  property  the  same;  instructing  and  go- 
verning, by  mutual  concert  and  care,  the  children 
that  God  may  have  given  them,  and  all  others  of 
whom  they  have  the  charge;  and  praying  for,  and  aid- 
ing each  other,  in  the  performance  of  all  other  reli- 
gious duties,  endeavouring,  in  all  respects,  to  live  to- 
gether as  heirs  of  the  grace  of  life. 

Nothing  is  of  more  importance  in  the  marriage  re- 
lation, than  for  both  parties  to  watch  against  the  very 
beginnings  of  discord,  and  when  it  unhappily  occurs, 
to  prevent  its  progress  by  self-command  and  suitable 
concession.  Many  rules  of  prudence  have  been  given, 
in  relation  to  this  point,  and  they  are  worth  remem- 
brance and  regard;  but  the  best  rule  of  all  is,  to  recol- 
lect habitually  the  marriage  covenant  itself,  and  the 
all  seeing  eye  of  God,  and  under  the  influence  of  these 
recollections,  to  endeavour  to  preserve  a  conscience 
void  ofoiFence.  If  any  alienation  has  unhappily  com- 
menced, that  party  acts  the  most  like  a  Christian,  who 
first  makes  an  advance,  and  even  a  sacrifice,  if  it  be 
necessary,  for  the  restoration  of  perfect  harmony. 
Sometimes  a  peculiarity,  and  even  a  perversity  of 
temper,  or  conduct,  when  it  is  not  gross,  or  in  extreme. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  155 

may  be  so  met  by  prudence  and  Christian  kindness 
in  the  other  party,  as  still  to  preserve  no  inconsidera- 
ble degree  of  happiness,  in  this  nearest  and  tenderest 
of  all  relations.  When  one  party  becomes  flagrantly 
vicious,  or  habitually  ill  tempered,  then  certainly  en- 
sues one  of  the  severest  trials  of  human  life:  and  yet 
it  is  a  trial  which  not  a  few  of  the  best  of  our  fallen 
race  have  been  called  to  endure.  Much  patience, 
much  prayer,  much  address,  and  many  plans  and  en- 
deavours to  produce  reformation,  will,  in  every  such 
case,  be  called  for,  from  the  innocent,  suffering  party. 
If  these  are  ineffectual,  and  the  vices  indulged  do  not 
warrant  a  divorce,  nothing  remains  but  to  cultivate 
submission  to  the  permissive  will  of  God,  and  to  seek 
every  lawful  alleviation  of  distress,  till  the  death  of 
the  offender,  or  of  the  offended — a  sad  alternative — 
shall  bring  relief. 

In  closing  this  part  of  my  subject,  suffer  me,  my 
young  friends,  to  offer  you  a  few  words  of  friendly 
counsel,  on  the  subject  of  marriage.  On  what  is  due 
to  parents  and  guardians,  I  shall  add  nothing  to  what 
is  said  in  the  quotation  from  the  standards  of  our 
church,  till  I  come  to  speak  particularly  of  the  duties 
of  parents  and  children.  Be  assured,  that  much  of 
your  happiness  depends  on  the  management  of  your 
affections,  in  relation  to  one  with  whom  you  contem- 
plate a  union  for  life.  These  affections  ought  never 
to  be  permitted  to  become  fixed  and  strong,  till  you 
are  satisfied  that  they  have  not  been  placed  on  an  un- 
worthy object,  or  that  a  worthy  one  will  meet  and  re- 
ciprocate them.  This  advice  is  not  impracticable. 
Our  affections,  when  incipient,  are  certainly  under  our 
control.  That  they  are  not  so,  or  at  least  not  easily 
restrained,  nor  disappointed  without  the  keenest  pain, 
when  they  have  become  settled  and  ardent,  is  the  very 
reason  of  the  advice  that  I  now  offer.  Numerous  are 
the  instances  in  which  disappointed  affection  has  left 
a  wound  as  lasting  as  life;  or  been  the  cause  that  the 
heart  could  never  be  so  given  to  another  individual, 
as  to  render  marriage  desirable.  Therefore,  while 
your  hearts  are  in  your  own  keeping,  think  whether 


156  LECTURES      ON    THE 

a  party  toward  whom  you  find  them  tending  is  wor- 
thy of  them.  Then  think  whether  there  is  a  prospect 
of  a  return  of  affection;  or  whether  there  be  not  some 
insurmountable  obstacles  to  the  lawfulness,  or  the 
practicability  of  a  union.  Be  as  far  resolved  in  these 
points  as  you  can  be,  before  you  suffer  an  attachment 
to  become  too  strong  to  be  renounced — fully  resolved, 
I  admit  you  cannot  easily  be,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case.  Therefore  I  add,  be  much  in  prayer,  that  God 
may  direct  you,  assist  you  to  govern  your  own  minds, 
and,  by  the  order  of  his  providence,  make  the  path  of 
duty  plain.  There  is  no  event  of  life  which  calls  for 
more  solemn  deliberation,  and  for  more  earnest  prayer 
for  heavenly  wisdom  and  guidance,  than  that  of  mar- 
riage; since  with  no  other  event  are  the  destinies  of 
this  life,  and  even  of  the  life  to  come,  so  often  and  so 
closely  connected.  Yet  how  frequently  is  this  rela- 
tion formed  without  any  serious  thought,  or  one  pe- 
tition offered  to  God  for  his  direction  and  blessing — 
formed  under  the  blind  impulse  of  ungoverned  and 
heedless  passion.  What  wonder,  then,  that  it  is  so 
frequently  productive  of  disappointment  and  misery, 
instead  of  that  happiness  which  it  was  intended,  and 
in  itself,  is  so  admirably  calculated  to  promote.  The 
wonder  is,  that  unhappy  matches  are  not  a  hundred 
fold  more  numerous  than  they  actually  are. 

It  seems  scarcely  necessary  to  caution  youth  against 
forming  this  connexion  from  mere  mercenary  mo- 
tives, or  without  real  affection  for  the  objects  of  their 
choice.  They  who  do  this,  deserve  the  misery 
which  they  are  sure  to  experience.  It  is  commonly 
more  needful  to  warn  the  young  against  contracting 
marriage,  before  they  have  any  reasonable  prospect 
of  supporting  a  family;  and  to  put  them  on  their 
guard  against  being  smitten  with  some  showy  quali- 
ties, unaccompanied  by  solid  merit  and  lasting  excel- 
lence. I  am  a  friend  to  early  marriages,  in  all  cases 
where  the  parties  have  the  means  of  a  comfortable 
livelihood,  or  may  rationally  hope  to  obtain  it,  from 
occupations  and  industry  for  which  they  are  prepared, 
and   which  lie  fairly  before  them.     But  the  folly  is 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  1 57 

great,  and  the  misery  often  lasting,  when  young  per- 
sons bind  themselves  to  each  other  in  marriage,  and 
bring  a  family  around  them,  without  either  the  means 
or  the  prospect  of  obtaining  the  very  necessaries  of 
life.  In  such  a  procedure,  surely  there  is  no  mani- 
festation of  genuine  affection,  but  much  of  real  wicked- 
ness and  cruelty.  Nor  can  I  pass  without  pointed 
censure,  a  practice  often  witnessed  in  this  country,  of 
young  persons  pledging  themselves  to  each  other  for 
a  future  marriage,  while  they  have  yet  a  profession 
or  a  trade  to  acquire,  and  when  changes  may  take 
place  that  may  render  the  contract  difficult,  and  some- 
times improper  to  be  fulfilled.  The  voluntary  viola- 
tion of  a  marriage  engagement,  where  attachment 
and  fidelity  remain  on  one  side,  is  among  the  basest 
and  most  criminal  actions  of  which  a  human  being 
can  be  guilty.  The  death  which  it  sometimes  occa- 
sions, is  a  real  murder,  aggravated  by  the  circum- 
stance that  it  is  of  a  lingering  kind.  How  carefully 
should  every  conscientious  youth  guard,  against  even 
a  temptation  to  so  great  a  sin?  But  leaving  this  out 
of  view,  an  engagement  of  marriage,  while  a  person 
is  making  preparation  for  a  professional  pursuit,  often 
and  usually  interferes  with  that  preparation,  in  so 
serious  a  manner  as  to  render  it  inexpedient  and  im- 
prudent, in  a  very  high  degree. 

In  the  choice  of  a  companion  for  life,  the  qualities 
which  will  wear  luell,  are  worthy  of  far  more  regard, 
although  they  too  seldom  receive  it,  than  those  which 
strike  and  dazzle,  with  little  beside  to  recommend 
them.  Good  sense,  good  nature,  good  morals,  good 
education,  good  behaviour,  firmness  of  mind,  active 
habits,  an  affectionate  and  benevolent  disposition, 
genuine  piety,  and  a  healthful  constitution,  these  are 
the  prime  requisites.  These  will  last  when  beauty 
has  faded,  and  fashionable  manners  and  accamplish- 
ments,  none  of  which  do  I  disparage,  have  lost  their 
charms,  or  their  scope  for  display. 

Attentively  ponder,  my  dear  children,  the  advice 
which  age  and  experience  thus  offer  you,  in  relation 
to  a  subject  in  which  your  dearest  interests  are  m- 


1 58  LECTURES    ON     THE 

volved.  Above  all  seek  counsel  of  God.  "In  all 
your  ways  acknowledge  him,  and  he  shall  direct  your 
paths." 

The  consideration  of  the  duties  of  parents  and  chil- 
dren must  be  deferred  till  the  next  lecture. 


LECTURE  XLVII. 


2.  Of  Parents  and  Children.  The  duties  of  parents 
to  their  children  commence  as  soon  as  children  are 
born.  They  are  to  be  viewed  as  the  gift  of  God;  and 
the  first  duty  is  to  dedicate,  or  give  them  back  again, 
to  the  great  Author  of  their  being.  This  should  be 
done  in  prayer,  and  many  a  fervent  aspiration  of  the 
heart,  even  before  they  are  formally  set  apart  as  the 
Lord's  property,  in  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  which 
has  been  mercifully  ordained  for  this  purpose. 

The  first  years  of  children  are,  or  ought  to  be, 
chiefly  spent  in  the  presence  and  under  the  care  of 
their  mothers.  The  mother  who  trusts  her  tender 
offspring  entirely  or  chiefly  to  the  charge  of  a  servant, 
or  hireling,  unless  compelled  by  absolute  necessity, 
acts  a  most  unnatural  and  inhuman  part;  and  has  no 
cause  to  wonder  or  complain,  if  the  most  serious  and 
lasting  evils  are  the  consequence  of  her  unfaithfulness 
to  her  sacred  trust.  On  the  other  hand,  the  happiest 
effects  may  reasonably  be  expected,  for  they  have 
often  and  indeed  usually  been  realized,  when  a  pru- 
dent and  pious  mother  has  devoted  herself  to  her 
children,  and  has  suffered  no  desire  of  personal  ease 
or  gratification,  to  withdraw  her  from  the  care  and 
governance,  and  instruction  of  her  precious  charge. 
Nor  can  I  forbear  to  mention,  that  fathers  as  well  as 
mothers,  will  best  perform  their  duty,  by  spending 
more  time  in  the  company,  instruction,  and  superin- 
tendence of  their  children,  than  is  commonly  seen, 


SHORTER      CATECHISM. 


159 


even  in  those  who  are  not  usually  considered  as  defi- 
cient in  this  duty.  There  is  no  possible  substitute,  or 
equivalent,  for  parental  affection,  example,  instruction 
and  influence.  Instances  there  may  be,  and  a  few 
there  are,  where  a  parent's  part  has  been  happily 
performed,  by  others  than  natural  parents;  but  this 
is  no  real  exception  to  the  general  truth — parental 
influence  has  still  been  employed.  It  would  surely 
be  considered  as  a  waste  of  words,  to  spend  many,  in 
showing  that  parents  ought  to  love  their  children; 
and  yet  there  is  a  real  defect  of  a  proper  manifesta- 
tion of  aff'ection  for  their  oflspring,  in  those  parents 
who  almost  wholly  avoid  the  company  of  their  chil- 
dren, in  their  early  years. 

At  a  very  early  age,  children  should  be  imbued 
with  the  principles  of  piety;  be  taught,  in  language 
carefully  brought  down  to  their  capacity,  to  know 
their  Creator  and  Redeemer;  to  address  their  heav- 
enly Father  in  prayer  and  praise;  to  be  reminded  of 
his  constant  presence  and  all-seeing  eye;  to  seek  his 
favour  and  fear  his  displeasure;  to  love  their  Saviour, 
to  love  him  with  filial  and  supreme  aflection;  and  to 
understand,  as  fast  as  their  opening  faculties  will 
permit,  the  duty  which  they  owe  to  God,  and  to  all 
their  fellow  creatures.  As  they  advance  in  years, 
their  duty,  both  to  God  and  man,  should  be  still  more 
fully  explained  and  inculcated,  till  eventually  they 
are  thoroughly  indoctrinated  in  the  Christian  system. 

I  cannot  pretend  to  delineate  at  large,  tlie  most 
proper  course  of  general  instruction  for  children;  it 
must  of  necessity  be  more  or  less  limited  and  modified, 
by  the  circumstances  and  capacities  of  parents.  Yet 
I  will  cursorily  mention  a  few  particulars  of  import- 
ance, which  are  of  geueral  concern.  The  first  is,  that 
it  should  be  a  distinct  object  of  attention  with  all 
parents,  to  endeavour  to  correct  and  improve  the 
hearts  of  their  children — their  temper,  dispositions, 
and  desires — as  much  as  to  cultivate  their  under- 
standings, or  intellectual  powers.  Another  important 
point  is,  to  accustom  them  early  to  a  reverence  for 
every  thing  sacred — for  the  name,  the  word,  and  the 


160  LECTURES    ON    THE 

worship  of  God;  and  to  let  them  see  that  their  prac- 
tical regard  to  the  divine  commandments,  will  insure 
to  them  the  greatest  share  in  their  parents'  affections. 
The  opposite  of  this  is  also  of  great  moment ;  that  is, 
to  teach  children  practically,  that  sins  immediately 
against  God  are  the  greatest  of  all,  and  those  of  con- 
sequence which  will  be  most  distinctly  and  emphati- 
cally marked  by  parental  displeasure.  Another  point 
of  importance  is,  to  instruct,  as  much  as  possible,  by 
examples,  by  setting  before  them  instances,  or  narra- 
tives, of  the  happy  effects  of  piety  and  virtue,  and  the 
ruinous  consequences  of  disobedience,  vice  and  wick- 
edness. Again.  It  is  very  important,  both  in  giving 
reproof  and  in  endeavouring  to  impress  important 
truths  and  principles,  to  watch  for  and  improve,  the 
most  favourable  opportunities  or  seasons  for  doing  it. 
In  one  kind  of  humour,  or  conjuncture  of  circum- 
stances, a  lesson  of  instruction  may  deeply  and  last- 
ingly affect  the  mind  of  a  child,  which  at  other  times 
would  pass  by  him  like  the  idle  wind.  Once  more. 
Children  should  never  be  deceived.  No  advantage, 
but  the  most  lasting  injur)'-,  results  from  every  species 
of  deception,  used  with  children.  After  being  once 
or  twice  cheated,  they  believe  nothing  that  is  told 
them,  and  suspect  where  there  is  no  ground  for  sus- 
picion. On  the  contrary,  if  they  are  never  deceived, 
they  never  disbelieve  or  distrust;  and  also  learn  to 
avoid  all  falsehood  for  themselves.  Let  parents,  when 
necessary,  use  their  authority,  but  never  speak  falsely 
to  a  child;  although  it  may  sometimes  be  proper  to 
use  concealment.  Finally,  great  care  should  be  taken 
that  all  the  good  effects  of  parental  instruction  be  not 
counteracted  and  lost,  by  the  bad  advice  or  sugges- 
tions of  those  with  whom  children  associate.  Unprin- 
cipled servants,  or  vicious  companions,  may  undo  in 
an  hour,  what  has  required  months  to  teach  and  in- 
culcate. To  this  I  must  not  omit  to  add,  that  in  put- 
ting children  to  a  place  of  education,  or  to  learn  a 
trade  or  profession,  the  moral  and  religious  principles 
j  and  character  of  teachers  and  masters,  ought  to  be 
J  especially  regarded.  If  the  principles  of  infidelity  are 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  161 

cherished,  or  even  disregarded,  in  a  seminary  of  learn- 
ing, the  pupils  of  that  seminary  will  generally  be  in- 
fidels: and  I  have  hardly  known  an  instance,  in  which 
a  youth,  placed  under  the  care  of  an  infidel  lawyer,  a 
physician,  or  a  mechanic  of  whatever  kind,  who  did 
not  imbibe  the  sentiments  of  his  teacher  or  master. 
Let  all  Christian  parents  pay  a  sacred  regard  to  these 
considerations. 

The  personal  example  which  parents  set  before 
their  children  is  of  the  utmost  moment.  It  is  an  old 
and  just  maxim,  that  example  teaches  more  than  pre- 
cept. This  is  peculiarly  true  in  regard  to  the  exam- 
ple of  parents,  to  whom  children  are  accustomed  to 
look  up  with  reverence  and  affection,  as  patterns  of 
all  that  is  right  and  praiseworthy:  and  if  the  practice 
of  parents  is  at  war,  or  in  any  degree  inconsistent, 
with  their  precepts,  the  latter  will  stand  for  little  or 
nothing.  It  is  from  what  parents  do,  a  hundred  fold 
more  than  from  what  they  say,  that  their  children 
receive  a  practical  influence.  They  always  interpret 
the  meaning  oi  ^\\Q\^  parents'  words  by  their  parents' 
actions:  and  if  they  are  even  told  to  do  otherwise, 
they  commonly  think  the  command  is  insincere  or 
unreasonable,  and  disregard  it  altogether.  In  every 
thing  therefore,  in  all  that  relates  to  religion,  to  morals, 
to  family  order,  to  temper,  to  good  manners,  and  to 
activity  and  industry,  let  parents  remember,  that  their 
example  is  likely  to  make  the  most  powerful  and  last- 
ing impression  on  their  children.  Under  the  recol- 
lection of  the  solemn  responsiblity  which  this  circum- 
stance imposes,  let  parents  be  careful  of  all  that  they 
say  or  do,  in  the  presence  of  their  offspring. 

The  right  government  of  their  children,  is  among 
the  most  important  duties  of  parents.  This  ought  to 
commence  at  a  much  earlier  period  than  is  common- 
ly thought  to  be  proper.  Children  know  well  the 
import  of  looks,  tones,  and  actions,  long  before  they 
understand  the  meaning  of  words.  At  the  age  of 
nine  months,  and  even  earlier,  a  child  will  appre- 
hend, from  looks  and  gestures,  what  the  parent  ap- 
proves and  disapproves;  and  as  soon  as  he  is  capable 


162  LECTURES     ON     THE 

of  this,  his  government  should  commence,  and  should 
be  enforced  by  suitable  expressions  of  displeasure  on 
the  one  hand,  and  of  approval  on  the  other.  Nor  is 
any  mistake  greater,  than  that  which  consists  in 
thinking  that  this  is  a  hard  or  cruel  system.  If  right- 
ly managed,  it  is  the  kindest  system  of  all.  It  will 
often,  and  even  usually,  render  tmnecessary  any  se- 
vere correction,  for  years  after  the  child  is  acquaint- 
ed with  the  meaning  of  verbal  commands  and  prohi- 
bitions; and  will,  withal,  prevent  many  an  hour  of 
great  suffering,  from  fretfulness  and  ill  humour.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  a  child  is  not  taught  obedience  till 
he  is  two  or  three  years  of  age,  he  will  have  endured 
much  misery,  from  wayward  fancies  and  tempers 
that  could  not  be  gratified,  and  must  then  commonly 
suffer  some  severe  chastisement,  to  bring  him  under 
subjection,  or  else  be  left  to  take  his  own  course  for 
the  remainder  of  life.  But  the  parent  who  yields  to 
the  latter  part  of  this  alternative,  sins  grievously,  both 
against  God  and  against  his  child.  It  is  a  part  of  in- 
fidel philosophy,  standing  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Bible,  that  children  can  generally  be 
governed  entirely  by  reason  and  persuasion,  without 
correction  and  control.  We  readily  grant  that  reason 
and  persuasion  are  to  be  fully  and  assiduously  used, 
as  soon  as  they  can  be  understood;  and  that  the  more 
efficient  they  can  be  rendered,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
necessity  of  coercion  by  other  means,  the  better.  But 
we  insist,  that  government  ought  to  commence  long 
before  they  can  be  used  at  all,  and  that  in  ninety-nine 
cases  out  of  a  hundred,  all  experience  shows,  that 
reason  and  persuasion  alone  are  not  sufficient  to  re- 
strain the  indulgence  of  the  evil  feelings,  dispositions, 
propensities,  and  passions  of  children.  If  a  child, 
after  he  understands  language,  can  be  properly  gov- 
erned by  appeals  to  his  reason  and  sense  of  duty,  far 
be  it  from  us  to  say,  that  he  should  ever  feel  the  rod; 
and  we  think  that  where  such  instances  occur  in  fact, 
they  are  most  likely  to  be  found  among  children  who 
have  been  subjected  to  the  early  discipline,  which  has 
already  been  recommended.     But  the  fact  is,  that  all 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  163 

such  instances  are  only  exceptions  to  a  very  general 
rule.  Hence  the  Divine  declarations  and  injunctions, 
delivered  by  the  wisest  of  men — "  He  that  spareth 
his  rod,  hateth  his  son;  but  he  that  loveth  him  chas- 
teneth  him  betimes.  Chasten  thy  son  while  there  is 
hope,  and  let  not  thy  soul  spare  for  his  crying.  Fool- 
ishness is  bound  in  the  heart  of  a  child;  but  the  rod 
of  correction  shall  drive  it  far  from  him.  Withhold 
not  correction  from  the  child;  for  if  thou  beatest  him 
with  the  rod  he  shall  not  die.  Thou  shalt  beat  him 
with  the  rod,  and  shalt  deliver  his  soul  from  hell. 
The  rod  and  reproof  giveth  wisdom;  but  a  child  left 
to  himself  bringeth  his  mother  to  shame."  Here  are 
the  instructions  and  precepts  of  unerring  wisdom, 
which  are  not  to  be  set  aside  by  the  false  reasonings, 
or  reluctant  inclinations,  of  fallible  and  corrupted  hu- 
man nature.  Yet  in  complying  with  these  inspired 
prescriptions,  we  not  only  admit,  but  earnestly  incul- 
cate, the  importance  of  uniting  with  firmness  and  per- 
severance, the  greatest  degree  of  tenderness  and  pru- 
dence. The  utmost  care  is  to  be  taken  to  impress 
the  child  with  the  conviction  that  the  parent  has  no 
pleasure,  but  very  sensible  pain,  in  the  infliction  of 
chastisement.  Many  foibles  and  follies  are  to  be  met, 
with  verbal  remark  and  remonstrance  only,  and  some 
should  even  be  past  without  notice.  The  child  is  not 
to  be  perpetually  teazed  and  worried  with  fault-find- 
ing. He  should  know  what  he  is  to  expect,  and 
great  indulgence,  and  kindness,  and  allowance  for 
youthful  feelings,  should  constantly  be  manifested. 
Tokens  of  approbation  and  expressions  of  endear- 
ment, should  be  discreetly,  but  not  lavishly  bestow- 
ed, on  well  doing.  Sometimes,  when  chastisement 
has  been  merited  and  is  fully  expected,  the  child 
should  be  surprised  with  an  act  of  free  forgiveness, 
accompanied  with  an  appeal  of  the  tenderest  kind,  to 
all  the  generous  feelings  of  his  nature,  and  his  sense 
of  filial  duty.  Stripes  should  never  be  inflicted, 
while  a  particle  of  anger  is  felt  by  the  parent.  It  is 
a  vain  pretence  which  some  parents  set  up,  that  they 
cannot  correct  unless  they  are  angry.     If  they  were 


164  LECTURES    ON     THE 

duly  sensible  of  the  important  truth,  that  in  correct- 
ing their  children  they  should  always  expect,  and  be 
willing  to  feel,  as  much  pain  as  they  inflict,  they 
would  not  find  it  impracticable  to  do  their  duty. 
Blows  inflicted  in  anger  gratify  a  passion,  and  no 
gratification,  but  great  self-denial,  ought  ever  to  be 
felt  in  this  business.  When  the  rod  is  to  be  used,  it 
should  generally  be  preceded  by  the  tenderest  remon- 
strance; and  if  tears  accompany  the  remonstrance,  on 
the  parent's  part,  as  well  as  on  that  of  the  child,  so 
much  the  better.  If  to  all  this  be  added  a  short  and 
affecting  prayer,  that  the  correction  to  be  given  may 
be  sanctified  to  the  child — a  practice  which  I  know 
has  been  adopted  by  some  Christian  parents — there 
will  be  no  danger  that  filial  affection  will  be  destroy- 
ed by  the  use  of  the  rod.  Nay,  it  will  be  greatly  in- 
creased, although  for  the  moment  resentment  may  be 
felt.  It  will  create  a  deep  reverence  for  the  parent, 
highly  favourable  to  the  strongest  and  most  lasting 
affection;  for  it  does  not  belong  to  human  nature  to 
continue  to  love  that  which  we  despise — a  truth 
which  careless  and  vicious  parents  would  do  well  to 
consider  and  regard. 

The  object  to  be  aimed  at,  in  the  government  of 
children  in  their  early  years,  is  to  bring  them  to  an 
unqualified  submission,  and  as  far  as  possible  a  cheer- 
ful obedience,  to  the  will  of  the  parent;  nor  should 
correction,  in  any  particular  instance,  be  discontinued 
till  this  is  effected;  nor  the  system  be  relaxed  which 
is  calculated  to  produce  submission  as  a  habit,  till  the 
habit  is  thoroughly  formed  and  fixed.  And  so  far 
will  this  be  from  rendering  a  child  base-spirited,  as 
some  have  foolishly  supposed,  that  it  will  imbue  him 
with  some  of  the  most  useful  principles  and  feelings, 
that  he  can  possess  in  after  life. 

Having  mentioned  that  children  should  sometimes 
be  surprised  by  acts  of  forgiveness,  I  feel  constrained 
to  add,  that  in  doing  it,  regard  should  be  had  to  the 
nature  of  the  offence  to  be  forgiven.  I  would  say, 
for  example,  that  if  a  child  had,  by  a  very  criminal 
inattention,  caused  his  parent  the  loss  of  property,  or 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  165 

the  incurring  of  a  personal  mishap  or  injury,  I  would, 
in  certain  circumstances,  freely  forgive  him,  after  a 
suitable  remonstrance;  while  lying,  gross  profane- 
ness,  deliberate  fraud,  and  direct  or  palpable  disobe- 
dience, I  would  seldom,  if  ever,  pass  without  severe 
chastisement. 

There  can  be  nothing  like  proper  discipline  in  a 
family,  where  a  child  can  appeal,  or  fly  for  refuge, 
from  one  parent  to  the  other.  There  ought  to  be  the 
most  perfect  concert  between  fathers  and  mothers,  in 
regard  to  their  children,  in  reference  to  this  subject; 
and  so  far  from  interfering,  when  correction  is  to  be 
administered,  they  ought  invariably  to  sustain  and 
support  each  other.  Children  should  be  carefully 
impressed  with  the  idea,  that  disobedience  to  either 
parent  is  equally  criminal.  It  has  been  justly  re- 
marked, that  to  show  that  equal  honour  and  regard 
is  due  from  children  to  their  mother,  as  to  their  father, 
and  to  prevent  any  diflerence  of  esteem,  reverence 
and  obedience,  there  is  one  text  of  Scripture,  in  which 
the  mother  is  mentioned  before  the  father,  Lev.  xix. 
3.  "  Ye  shall  fear  every  man  his  mother  and  his 
father." 

In  our  last  lecture,  it  was  stated  from  the  constitu- 
tion of  our  church,  "  that  parents  ought  neither  to 
compel  their  children  to  marry  contrary  to  their  in- 
clination, nor  deny  their  consent  without  just  and  im- 
portant reasons."  Little  needs  to  be  added  to  this 
excellent  general  rule.  The  mercenary  or  coyiveiiient 
matches,  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  which  some 
parents  plan  for  their  children,  and  insist  on  carrying 
into  effect,  are  both  cruel  and  wicked.  Cruel  be- 
cause they  are  calculated  to  destroy  for  life  the  hap- 
piness of  their  offspring,  and  wicked  because  they 
urge  to  nothing  better  than  a  legal  prostitution,  and 
very  often  lead  to  that  also  which  is  confessedly  ille- 
gal and  adulterous.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  there  may  be  a  disposition  in  children 
to  contract  a  marriage,  to  which  parents  ought  never 
to  yield  their  consent;  and  which,  during  the  nonage 
of  a  child,  should   be   absolutely   prohibited.     But 


166  LECTURES     ON     THE 

every  case  of  this  kind  should  be  one  that  is  clearly 
and  strongly  marked.  Much  should  be  conceded  to 
deep  affection  already  contracted;  and  active  opposi- 
tion may  sometimes  be  forborne,  where  positive  as- 
sent is  perseveringly  denied.  Yet  perseveringly  to 
refuse  forgiveness  and  reconciliation,  to  a  child  who 
has  in  this  matter  erred,  however  grievously,  is  al- 
ways contrary  to  Christian  duty. 

It  is  the  duty  of  parents  to  make  a  suitable  provi- 
sion for  their  offspring.  To  this  they  are  in  most 
cases  sufficiently  disposed.  Parental  drunkards,  gam- 
blers, spendthrifts,  and  idlers,  who  beggar  their  fami- 
lies, to  gratify  their  own  vicious  appetites,  or  criminal 
propensities,  are  human  monsters,  more  unnatural 
than  even  the  brute  beasts.  Parents  who  have  to 
earn  a  living  for  themselves  and  their  families,  should 
certainly  feel  an  obligation  to  be  industrious,  frugal, 
and  economical,  that  those  who  depend  upon  them 
may  live  comfortably  for  the  present,  and  that  they 
may  provide  for  their  own  old  age  or  sickness,  and 
at  death  leave  something  to  their  descendants.  The 
apostle  not  only  declares,  that  "  if  any  provide  not  for 
his  own,  and  specially  for  those  of  his  own  house,  he 
hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel," 
but  he  also  states  it  as  a  duty,  that  parents  should 
"lay  up  for  their  children."  This  disposition,  how- 
ever, it  should  be  remarked,  is  much  more  frequently 
seen  to  be  excessive  than  defective.  Those  parents 
do  not  leave  the  best  inheritance  to  their  children, 
who  give  nothing,  or  very  little,  to  charitable  designs, 
but  parsimoniously  treasure  up  every  thing  for  those 
who  are  to  come  after  them;  and  who,  in  such  cases, 
are  often  observed  to  scatter  and  waste  the  hoards  of 
avarice,  much  faster  than  their  progenitors  gathered 
them.  Those  who  possess  an  abundance,  whether 
as  the  fruit  of  their  own  industry  and  prudence,  or  as 
an  inheritance  from  their  relatives  or  friends,  have 
certainly  a  right  to  make  a  liberal  provision  for  their 
families.  But  they  often  mistake  in  estimating  what 
such  a  provision  is;  and  still  oftener  forget,  that  in  all 
they  possess  they  are  but  the  holders  of  God's  bounty, 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  167 

and  ought  to  regard  themselves  as  his  stewards.  If 
parents  would  fully  sustain  their  Christain  character 
and  profession,  they  should  leave  no  more  to  their 
children  than  that  very  amount  which,  on  the  best 
observation  they  can  make,  they  conscientiously  be- 
lieve is  most  likely  to  render  their  successors,  at  once 
the  most  happy  in  themselves,  and  the  most  useful  to 
the  community;  all  beyond  this,  whether  it  be  more 
or  less,  they  should  bestow,  or  bequeath,  to  benevo- 
lent or  pious  designs  or  institutions. 

Finally — It  is  the  duty  of  parents  to  pray  for  their 
children,  till  the  season  for  prayer  is  closed,  either  by 
their  own  death,  or  that  of  their  offspring.  There  is 
much  reason  to  fear  and  to  believe,  that  the  children 
of  truly  pious  persons  often  remain  in  an  unconverted 
state,  because  parental  prayer  for  their  renovation 
has  not  been  offered,  with  that  frequency  and  fer- 
vency which  would  have  insured  a  favourable  an- 
swer. "  It  is  impossible  that  the  child  of  so  many 
prayers  and  tears  should  perish,"  said  Basil  to  the 
weeping  Monica,  the  mother  of  St.  Augustine,  while 
he  was  yet  a  Manichean,  and  an  abandoned  profli- 
gate. No  day  of  life  should  pass,  in  which  fathers 
and  mothers,  not  only  unitedly  in  the  family,  but 
separately  in  secret,  should  bring  their  dear  offspring 
before  the  throne  of  grace,  and  with  all  the  earnest- 
ness and  importunity  of  a  spirit  breaking  with  desire 
to  obtain  the  object  sought,  pray  that  the  saving  grace 
of  God  may  be  imparted  to  each  of  them  respectively. 
Seasons  should  likewise  be  set  apart  to  pray  with 
their  children,  without  the  presence  of  any  other  in- 
dividuals; and  seasons  also  of  fasting  and  prayer, 
should  be  observed  by  parents,  sometimes  conjointly, 
and  sometimes  separately,  to  plead  with  their  cove- 
nant keeping  God,  that  those  whom  they  have  de- 
voted to  him  in  covenant,  may  be  "  deliverd  from 
the  power  of  darkness,  and  translated  into  the  king- 
dom of  his  dear  Son."  Who  can  doubt  of  the  happy 
result  of  such  a  procedure  as  this?  Would  it  not  lay 
a  just  foundation  for  the  hope  of  parents,  that  a  direct 
answer,  in   God's   good  time,  would  be  granted  to 


168  LECTURES     ON      THE 

their  prayers;  a  hope  that  He  with  whom  is  the  resi- 
due of  the  Spirit,  would  assuredly  impart  his  trans- 
forming influence  to  their  dear  offspring?  Would  it 
not  also  have  a  natutal  influence  to  make  them  care- 
ful and  conscientious,  in  the  discharge  of  every  par- 
ticular duty  which  they  owe  to  their  children?  Be- 
yond a  question,  these  consequences  would  as  cer- 
tainly follow,  as  that  any  cause  will  produce  its  ap- 
propriate eff'ect. 

We  now  come  to  consider  the  duties  which  chil- 
dren owe  to  their  parents — duties  which  are  plainly 
founded  in  the  law  of  nature,  since,  under  God,  chil- 
dren derive  their  very  being  from  their  parents; 
which  is  the  source  of  love  and  attachment,  even  in 
the  inferior  animals.  Hence  the  apostle  says  of  obe- 
dience to  parents,  "  this  is  right;"  that  is,  manifestly 
equitable  and  reasonable;  and  he  elsewhere  affirms, 
that  it  is  well  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God. 

Filial  duty  is  not  less  obligatory  than  parental. 
"  To  the  disgrace  of  human  nature  it  is  often  observed, 
that  parental  affection  is  much  stronger  than  filial 
duty.  We  must,  indeed,  acknowledge  the  wisdom  of 
Providence,  in  making  the  instinctive  impulse  stronger 
in  parents  towards  their  children,  than  in  children  to- 
ward their  parents;  because  the  first  is  more  neces- 
sary than  the  other  to  the  public  good;  yet  when  we 
consider  both  as  improved  into  a  virtuous  disposi- 
tion, by  reason  and  a  sense  of  duty,  there  seems  to  be 
every  whit  as  much  baseness  in  filial  ingratitude,  as 
in  want  of  natural  aff'ection."* 

As  the  duties  of  children  to  their  parents  are  cor- 
relative, or  correspondent  to  those  which  their  parents 
ov/e  to  them,  the  former  class  may  at  once  be  ascer- 
tained, by  a  careful  attention  to  the  latter.  Thus  it  is 
plain,  that  if  it  be  the  duty  of  parents  to  love  their 
children,  to  instruct  them,  to  correct  and  govern  them, 
to  set  before  them  a  good  example,  to  provide  and  to 
pray  for  them;  then  it  must  evidently  be  the  corres- 
pondent duty  of  children,  to  make  a  return  of  affec- 

*  Witherspoon. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  169 

tion  to  their  parents,  cheerfully  to  receive  instruction, 
readily  to  submit  to  correction  and  government,  to 
imitate  the  good  examples  which  they  witness,  to  be 
careful  not  to  waste  the  property  of  their  parents,  to 
join  in  their  prayers,  and  to  pray  earnestly  for  them- 
selves. Without  following  the  exact  order  of  this 
general  statement,  and  not  to  leave  so  importatit  a 
part  of  our  subject  without  some  enlargement,  I  will 
give  you  a  brief  view  of  the  duty  of  children  to  their 
parents,  inider  a  number  of  particulars. 

1.  Although  children  are  to  obey  God  rather  than 
man,  as  heretofore  shown,  and  therefore  must  not  vio- 
late any  plain  law  or  duty  enjoined  by  divine  autho- 
rity, even  if  such  violation  is  required  by  a  parent, 
yet  this  will  not  destroy  the  obligation  to  obey  the 
same  parent,  in  every  thing  which  is  lawful.  Nay,  in 
every  such  case,  the  conscientious  child  should  be  pe- 
culiarly careful,  to  show  that  his  love  to  his  parent 
has  not  been  destroyed  or  diminished,  and  that  iti 
every  lawful  thing,  his  obedience  shall  be  most  prompt, 
exact,  and  dutiful.     Hence  I  observe — 

2.  It  is  a  sacred  duty  of  children,  not  unnecessarily 
to  grieve  and  distress  their  parents;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, to  do  all  in  their  power  to  give  them  satisfac- 
tion and  pleasure.  Nothing,  more  than  this,  marks  a 
truly  generous,  amiable,  and  genuine  filial  spirit.  The 
child  who  is  careless  of  the  pain,  anxiety,  loss,  or  in- 
convenience, which  he  may  cause  to  a  parent,  is 
chargeable  with  great  guilt  and  base  ingratitude.  In 
what  language,  then,  shall  we  speak  of  the  son,  or 
daughter,  whose  vicious  or  infamous  conduct  covers 
a  family  with  shame,  and  breaks  a  father's  or  a  mo- 
ther's heart! 

3.  As  the  opposite  of  what  has  just  been  said,  it  is 
the  duty  of  children  to  cherish  a  warm  affection,  and 
a  high  esteem,  respect,  and  reverence  for  their  pa- 
rents; to  regard  their  infirmities  and  weaknesses  with 
the  greatest  tenderness,  and  to  do  all  that  they  law- 
fully may,  to  cast  a  veil  over  even  their  faults  and 
vices.  The  account  we  have  of  the  conduct  of  the 
sons  and  grandson  of  Noah,  when  he  had  been  over- 

VOL.    II.  — 12 


170  LECTURES     ON      THE 

taken  by  drutikeiiuess,  was  doubtless  '•'  written  for 
our  learning."  Read  attentively,  my  young  friends, 
the  whole  of  the  sacred  record,  in  Gen.  ix.  20 — 27, 
and  remember  that  the  blessing  and  cursing  there 
mentioned,  were  certainly  by  divine  dictation.  If  they 
had  been  merely  the  effusions  of  parental  feeling,  there 
had  never  been  such  a  remarkable  fulfilment,  as  there 
certainly  has  been,  of  what  was  uttered  by  Noah  on 
that  occasion.  Nothing,  I  cannot  forbear  to  observe, 
in  the  whole  book  of  God,  is  marked  with  more  fear- 
ful denunciations,  than  gross  indignities  offered  by 
children  to  their  parents.  "  The  eye  that  mocketh  at 
his  father,  and  despiseth  to  obey  his  mother,  the  ra- 
vens of  the  valley  shall  pick  it  out,  and  the  young 
eagles  shall  eat  it."  And  "  disobedience  to  parents" 
is  ranked  by  the  apostle  Paul,  (Rom.  i.  30,)  among 
the  most  shocking  and  detestable  vices,  which  de- 
praved man  has  ever  exhibited,  even  in  the  heathen 
world.  When  parents  are  notoriously  and  habitu- 
ally vicious,  the  part  which  pious  or  prudent  children 
are  called  to  act,  is  truly  difficult.  Silence  in  regard 
to  their  vices,  as  far  as  practicable,  and  much  and 
earnest  prayer  for  their  reformation  and  conversion, 
are  the  duties  then  to  be  performed.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  children  are  blessed  with  worthy  parents, 
their  characters  are  to  be  promptly  and  earnestly  de- 
fended by  their  offspring,  against  every  slander  and 
unjust  reproach. 

4.  There  are  many  external  tokens  of  respect  and 
of  affectionate  regard,  which  it  is  the  duty  of  children 
to  show  to  their  parents.  "Thus  Solomon,  though 
his  character  as  a  king  rendered  him  superior  to  all  his 
subjects,  yet  he  expressed  a  great  deal  of  honour  by 
outward  gestures  to  his  mother,  when  she  went  to 
speak  in  behalf  of  Adonijah.  'Tis  said  that  the  king 
rose  up  to  meet  her,  and  bowed  himself  unto  her,  and 
sat  down  on  his  throne,  and  caused  a  seat  to  be  set  for 
the  king's  mother,  and  she  sat  on  his  right  hand,"* 
Nothing  is  more  lovely  than  to  observe  the  sedulous 

*  Ridgley. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  17J 

and  kind  attentions,  which  dutiful  children  are  some- 
times seen  to  show  to  their  parents — in  watching  all 
their  wants,  wailing  upon  them  whenever  they  can 
afford  any  aid,  and  showing  by  a  thousand  nameless 
little  services,  that  it  is  among  their  greatest  gratifica- 
tions, to  add  something  to  their  parents'  comfort  and 
convenience.  A  watchful  and  unremitted  endeavour 
to  relieve  and  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  a  sick  parent, 
is  among  the  obvious  duties  of  children:  and,  in  a 
word,  they  are  on  all  occasions  bound  to  render  to 
their  parents  every  act  of  service  that  is  lawful  in  it- 
self, and  within  their  power  to  perform. 

5.  Patient  submission  to  just  correction,  in  their 
early  years,  and  to  just  reproof  at  a  more  advanced 
age,  is  an  important  duty  which  children  owe  to  their 
parents.  An  obstinately  "  stubborn  and  rebellious 
son"  was  commanded  to  be  judicially  put  to  death, 
under  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  Deut.  xvi.  18 — 21. 
This,  doubtless,  was  intended  to  be  peculiar  to  that 
dispensation;  but  it  serves  to  show,  that  the  offence 
is,  in  the  eye  of  God,  of  a  very  aggravated  kind.  It 
may  be  difficult  to  convince  children,  at  the  time  they 
receive  even  the  most  necessary  chastisement,  that  it 
is  solely  intended  for  their  good;  yet,  in  after  life,  if 
they  are  not  lost  to  all  reason,  they  seldom  fail  to  be 
thankful  to  ther  parents  that  it  was  administered;  and 
this  ought  to  induce  them  to  take  the  reproof  which 
they  may  receive  in  riper  age,  with  thankfulness  also, 
and  improve  it  for  their  further  amendment  and  be- 
nefit. 

6.  If  reproof,  seasonably  given,  ought  to  be  well 
received  by  children,  they  surely  ought  to  listen  to 
advice,  and  to  obey  it  carefully  and  cheerfully.  There 
is  scarcely  a  more  unpromising  indication  in  a  child, 
than  a  disregard  to  parental  advice.  Often,  very 
often,  it  is  followed  by  the  most  serious  mischiefs,  and 
the  most  bitter  regrets — frequently  as  unavailing  as 
they  are  bitter.  On  the  contrary,  the  child  to  whom 
the  advice  of  a  kind  and  judicious  parent  is  an  invio- 
lable rule  of  duty  and  action  is — I  had  nearly  said  al 
tvays — sure  of  prosperity  and  happiness. 


172  LECTURES     ON     THE 

7.  "  Children  are  to  express  their  duty  to  their  pa- 
rents, by  a  thankful  acknowledgment  of  past  favours ; 
and  accordingly  ought  to  relieve  them,  if  they  are 
able,  when  their  indigent  circumstances  call  for  it ; 
and  endeavour  to  be  a  staff,  comfort,  and  support  to 
them  in  their  old  age."*  This  is  a  duty  taught  in 
the  sacred  Scriptures,  both  in  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  New;  and  it  is  one  which  it  will  always  be  gra- 
tifying for  every  dutiful  child  to  perform. 

8.  It  is  the  duty  of  children,  in  all  ordinary  circum- 
stances, to  consult,  and  endeavour  to  please  their 
parents,  when  they  are  about  to  make  a  marriage  en- 
gagement. In  every  view  that  can  be  taken  of  the 
subject,  this  appears  to  be  a  reasonable  duty.  It  is 
due  to  the  deference  that  should  be  shown  to  parents; 
it  is  important  to  the  child,  as  a  matter  of  prudence; 
and  it  is  right  that  when  a  new  family  connexion  is 
to  be  formed,  the  heads  of  that  family  should  be  con- 
sulted, and,  if  practicable,  gratified.  Still,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  parents  may  be  sometimes  so  blinded 
by  prejudice,  or  so  utterly  unreasonable  in  their  de- 
mands and  expectations,  or  so  incapable  by  dotage,  or 
natural  defect  of  judgment,  to  form  a  just  opinion, 
that  children,  when  of  age  to  act  for  themselves,  will 
not  be  bound  to  follow,  or  even  to  ask  their  advice. 
Their  lasting  happiness  is  certainly  not  to  be  sacri- 
ficed to  parental  prejudice,  caprice,  or  folly.  Children 
must,  in  such  cases,  ask  counsel  of  God,  of  their  judi- 
cious friends,  and  of  their  own  consciences  and  hearts, 
and  act  as  duty,  thus  ascertained,  shall  appear  to  di- 
rect. 

My  dear  youth — In  stating  the  duties  of  parents 
and  children,  which  I  have  now  finished,!  have  been 
insensibly  led  into  far  more  detail  than  1  had  antici- 
pated. But  the  subject  is  worthy  of  detail,  and  of 
all  your  attention;  for  to  family  instruction,  family 
religion,  and  family  government,  we  must  be  more 
indebted  than  to  all  other  causes,  for  whatever  is  ex- 
cellent, either  in  the  church  or  in  the  stale.     When 

*  Ridgley. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  173 

parental  and  filial  duties  are  disregarded,  and  in  con- 
sequence of  this,  the  families  of  a  community  become 
generally  corrupt,  society  is  poisoned  in  its  very  foun- 
tain, and  every  stream  it  sends  forth  will  unavoidably 
partake  of  the  deadly  contamination. 


LECTURE  XLVIII. 


3.  Masters  and  servants.  In  this  part  of  my  lecture 
it  seems  to  be  an  imperious  duly,  notwithstanding  the 
extreme  delicacy  of  the  subject,  to  take  some  notice 
of  the  existence  of  slavery  in  our  land,  a  calamity  of 
no  ordinary  kind.  That  it  had  its  origin  from  the 
impositions  of  the  mother  country,  in  our  colonial 
state,  is  unquestionable.  It  has  been  partially  or  to- 
tally abolished,  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States 
of  the  American  Union,  and  in  Ohio  it  is  prohibited 
I  by  the  constitution  of  the  state.  Its  extinction  was  also 
I  under  serious  consideration  in  the  States  of  Maryland, 
\  Virginia  and  Kentucky,  till  certain  men,  styled  abo- 
■  litionist,  conceived,  and  propagated  their  misadvised 
f  and  monstrous  opinions,  and  reviled  and  denounced 
all  slaveholders  as  tyrants,  destitute  alike  of  humanity 
and  Christian  principle.  This  roused,  as  it  was  well 
calculated  to  do,  the  active  indignation  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  slaveholding  states,  and  put  an  end  to  all 
ideas  of  emancipation,  which  they  had  begun  to 
cherish.  They  affirm,  and  with  apparent  truth,  that 
the  system  of  the  abolitionists,  if  carried  into  effect, 
would  not  only  seriously  jeopardise  the  lives  of  them- 
selves and  their  families,  but  produce  an  incalculable 
injury  to  the  slaves  themselves.  They,  moreover, 
claim  to  understand  their  own  circumstances  far 
better  than  any  strangers  can  possibly  know  them; 
and  insist  with  earnestness,  that  all  measures,  touch- 
ing the  slavery  which  exists  among  them,  shall  be 


174  LECTURES      ON      THE 

left  exclusively  to  themselves;  and  in  this  they  are 
borne  out,  by  the  total  silence  of  the  federal  constitu- 
l(  tion  on  the  subject.  In  these  circumstatices,  forbear- 
lance,  on  the  part  of  the  opposers  of  slavery,  seems  to 
I  be  not  only  the  duty  of  worldly  prudence,  but  of  the 
I  spirit  of  the  gospel;  which  plainly  discountenances 
I  admonition,  when  it  can  have  no  other  tendency  than 
j  to  increase  irritation,  and  augment  the  resentment  of 
'  those  to  whom  the  admonition  is  addressed.* 

In  the  mean  time,  there  is  an  Association,  the  Ame- 
rican Colonization  Society,  which  is  generally  fa- 
voured in  the  slaveholding  States,  as  well  as  in  the 
other  parts  of  our  national  union.  Let  all  the  friends 
of  humanity  and  religion,  therefore,  in  every  section 
of  our  land,  rally  in  support  of  this  noble  institution, 
and  of  the  enterprise  which  it  superintends.  Its  great 
object  is,  to  transport  to  the  land  of  their  fathers,  the 
slaves  who  shall  be  voluntarily  manumitted  by  their 
owners,  and  who  cannot  remain  in  a  state  of  freedom 
in  the  places  in  which  they  have  been  bondmen.  The 
Society,  also,  affords  its  patronage  to  those  free  people 
of  colour,  in  every  part  of  our  country,  who  are  wil- 
ling to  emigrate,  and  settle  in  Africa.  It  thus  appears 
to  be  an  agency  for  the  relief  of  the  United  States,  in 
the  matter  of  slavery,  as  efficient  as  our  existing  cir- 
cumstances will  permit:  and  if  this  society  were  as 
liberally  patronized  as  its  nature  and  claims  demand, 
not  only  would  domestic  relief  be  afforded,  but  the 
horrible  commerce  in  slaves,  on  the  coasts  of  Africa, 
would  receive  its  most  effectual  check;  and  a  bright 
prospect  would  speedily  open,  of  diffusing  the  light 
and  blessings  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  throughout  that 
darkest  and  most  desolate  and  dreary  portion  of  the 
whole  earth. 

I  must  not  forbear  to  say  that  the  prohibition  to 
slaves  of  instruction  in  the  great  doctrines  of  Chris- 

*  Wherever  public  safety  will  permit  it,  individuals  who  own  slaves 
ought,  in  my  judgment,  to  free  them,  as  soon  as  it  can  be  done  with- 
out injury  to  the  slaves  themselves.  On  this  principle,  the  author  of 
the  lecture  has  given  their  freedom  to  two  very  valuable  slaves,  who 
came  into  his  possession  by  marriage. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  175 

tianity,  on  the  knowledge  of  which  the  salvation  of 
their  souls  depends,  is  a  sin,  at  which  the  mind  of 
every  Christian  must  shudder.  On  the  contrary,  the 
utmost  care  and  pains  ought  to  be  employed,  to  in- 
struct them  in  the  principles,  and  to  afford  them  the 
supports  of  true  religion;  that  the  anticipations  of 
future  and  eternal  happiness,  may  sustain  and  com- 
fort them  under  the  privations  and  sufferings  of  this 
transitory  life.  It  is  cheering  to  know,  that  in  some 
portions  of  the  slaveholding  states,  care  is  taken  to 
imbue  the  minds  of  the  coloured  population  with  the 
doctrines  and  consolation  of  the  gospel. 

From  the  prevalence  of  slavery  in  our  country,  and 
the  circumstance  that  slaveholders  usually  denominate 
their  slaves  servants,  the  very  term  has  come  to  be 
considered  as  opprobrious,  by  the  free  citizens  of  our 
land.  In  the  country  from  which  we  derived  our 
origin  and  our  language,  not  only  apprentices,  but 
free  persons  of  all  descriptions,  whether  male  or  fe- 
male, who  perform  service  for  hire,  and  take  their 
directions  from  a  superior,  are  called  servants  without 
the  least  offence.  But  as  with  us  the  appellation, 
when  applied  to  freemen,  is  considered  as  degrading 
and  offensive;  it  ought  on  that  account  to  be  generally 
avoided.  I  have  retained  both  it  and  its  correlative 
term  masters,  merely  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  in  de- 
scribing a  class  of  persons,  sustaining  a  relation  which 
involves  mutual  duties. 

Those  who  receive  and  have  the  charge  of  appren- 
tices, whether  the  business  to  be  learned  be  mecha- 
nical or  liberal,  will  scarcely  need  to  be  told,  that  it 
is  a  primary  duty  to  use  their  best  endeavours,  to 
render  those  v/ho  are  put  under  their  care  as  perfect 
as  possible,  in  the  branch  of  business  or  knowledge, 
which  they  are  expected  to  learn.  Any  omission  or 
defect  in  this  particular,  is  a  violation  of  contract,  and 
may  be  attended  by  lasting  injury  to  the  learner,  in 
future  life.  It  is  the  bounden  duty  of  all  masters  to 
restrain  their  apprentices,  as  far  as  may  be,  from  all 
immoralities — from  Sabbath  breaking,  profaneness, 
uncleanness,  insolence  to  and  abuse  of  others,  and 


176  LECTURES    ON    THE 

absence  from  their  presence  at  unseasonable  hours. 
If  corporal  chastisement  is  inflicted,  as  sometimes  it 
may  and  ought  to  be,  it  should,  as  in  the  case  of  chil- 
dren, be  administered  without  anger  or  passion,  and 
never  beyond  the  bounds  of  equity  and  moderation. 
Cajeful  religious  instruction,  and  the  benefit  of  a  good 
example,  is  a  sacred  duty  due  to  all  apprentices,  from 
those  to  whom  they  render  service  and  obedience. 
In  a  word,  masters  stand  to  apprentices  very  much 
in  the  relation  of  parents  to  children.  They  are,  in 
most  cases,  to  furnish  them  with  suitable  food,  cloth- 
ing, and  lodging:  and  except  in  the  article,  of  provid- 
ing for  them /)erwa/ze/j^  support,  and  an  inheritance^ 
the  more  a  master  regards  his  apprentices  as  his  chil- 
dren, the  better  will  he  perform  his  duty  to  them. 
He  will  exhibit  an  amiable  example  of  Christian 
temper  and  character,  and  be  most  likely  to  do  lasting 
good,  to  those  who  have  been  entrusted  to  his  care. 

The  duty  to  be  performed  to  redemptioners,*  by 
those  who  have  purchased  their  services  for  a  speci- 
fied time,  is  so  entirely  similar  to  that  which  is  due 
from  masters  to  apprentices,  that  nothing  seems  ne- 
cessary to  be  added  to  the  statement  just  made. 

Towards  hirelings,  the  duty  of  their  employers  is 
to  exact  of  them  no  more  service  than  was  fairly  sti- 
pulated for,  in  the  previous  agreement;  to  pay  them 
their  wages  punctually;  to  treat  them  with  kindness 
and  suitable  respect;  to  give  them,  as  opportunity 
offers,  good  advice;  and  to  endeavour,  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, to  promote  their  spiritual  interest. 

The  correlative  duties  of  all  those,  of  whatever  de- 
scription, who  are  in  the  service  of  others,  is  to  be 
faithful  and  conscientious  in  their  labour,  as  well  in 
the  absence  as  in  the  presence  of  those  whom  they 
serve;  to  be  as  careful  of  the  property  and  interest 
of  their  employer  as  if  it  were  their  own;  to  treat 

*  It  is  well  known  that  emigrants  from  foreign  countries  to  the 
United  States,  often  pay  for  their  passage,  by  being  bound  to  service 
for  a  limited  period.  Persons  of  this  character,  have  with  us  received 
the  general  appellation  of  redeiiqitioners — an  appropriate  term,  but 
one  peculiar  to  our  country. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM. 


177 


them  with  all  due  respect  and  obedience;  to  regard 
their  friendly  counsel  and  be  thankful  for  it;  to  obey- 
cheerfully  all  their  lawful  commands  or  directions; 
to  endeavour  to  please  them  in  all  things  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  commands  of  God  ;  and  to  endeavour 
to  profit  by  the  religious  instruction  that  may  be  im- 
parted, and  the  good  example  that  may  be  set  before 
them.  The  Scripture  is  full  and  explicit  on  the  mu- 
tual duties  of  masters  and  servants,  and  I  close  this 
particular  with  recommending  that  you  consult  your 
Bibles  carefully,  on  the  following  passages  of  the 
New  Testament— Eph.  vi.  5—9-,  Col.  iii.  22—25; 
Tit.  ii.  9,  10;  1  Pet.  ii.  18,  20. 

4.  Of  Ministers  and  People. — The  detail  and  ex- 
planation of  the  duties  of  ministers  of  the  gospel 
have  filled  volumes;  and  if  any  of  you,  my  young 
friends,  shall  hereafter  find  il  to  be  your  duty  to 
seek,  as  I  hope  you  may,  the  sacred  office,  and  at 
length  shall  become  invested  with  it,  the  duties  of  that 
office  will  form  an  important  part  of  your  reading 
and  study.  The  present  statement  must  be  very 
general  and  summary.  It  is  a  primary  and  sacred 
duty  which  every  minister  of  the  gospel  owes  to  God, 
to  his  people,  and  to  himself,  to  cultivate  personal 
piety,  and  to  endeavour  constantly  to  "  grow  in 
grace,"  that  he  may  not  only  "  save  himself,"  but  be 
prepared  to  speak  to  others  experimentally,  earnest- 
ly, and  (under  the  divine  blessing)  with  effect.  In 
order  to  the  full  and  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  his  sacred  vocation,  he  must  diligently  and  con- 
stantly study  the  Holy  Scriptures — they  must  be  the 
principal  subject  of  study;  and  he  must  regard  the 
acquisition  of  every  kind  of  knowledge  that  will  be 
auxiliary  to  theology,  as  desirable  and  deserving  of 
attention;  and  he  must  make  all  his  acquisitions  really 
subservient  to  the  cause,  to  which  he  is  a  devoted, 
consecrated  man — the  cause  of  God,  and  the  salvation 
of  immortal  souls.  He  must  be  much  in  prayer  for 
direction  and  assistance  in  the  performance  of  his 
various  duties,  and  for  the  success  of  his  labours.  He 
must  often  carry  the  people  of  his  charge  on  his  heart 


178 


LECTXJRKS     ON    THE 


to  ihe  throne  of  grace,  in  earnest  supplications  for 
their  salvation,  and  travail  in  hirih  till  Christ  is  form- 
ed in  them.  He  must  pray  specially  for  many  indi- 
viduals, whose  characters,  or  circumstances,  or  re- 
quests, call  liim  to  this  important  exercise.  He  must 
preach  the  word  of  life  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
plainly  and  faithfully,  whether  men  will  hear  or  whe- 
ther they  will  forbear;  not  shunning  to  declare  the 
whole  counsel  of  God.  By  family  visitations  and  per- 
sonal addresses,  he  must  carry  the  messages  of  salva- 
tion from  house  to  house.  He  must  pay  a  special 
attention  to  the  sick  and  the  afflicted,  and  to  those 
who  are  awakened  to  a  concern  for  their  eternal  in- 
terests, carefully  endeavouring  to  guard  them  against 
resting  on  a  false  foundation,  and  to  guide  them  safe- 
ly to  the  great  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  souls.  In  pri- 
vate, as  well  as  in  public,  he  must  *'  reprove,  rebuke, 
and  exhort,  with  all  long  suffering  and  doctrine." 
He  must  be  a  peace  maker.  He  must  recommend 
and  adorn  religion,  by  a  holy  and  exemplary  walk 
and  conversation.  He  must  rule  well  his  own  house, 
and  endeavour  to  make  his  family  exemplary.  He 
must  use  hospitality,  and  as  far  as  he  has  the  means, 
be  an  example  of  liberality,  in  relieving  the  poor,  and 
in  patronising  all  pious  and  benevolent  designs  and 
enterprises.  He  must  study  the  purity  and  peace  of 
the  church,  by  endeavouring  to  withstand  error,  to 
exercise  discipline,  and  to  heal  dissensions.  He  must 
consider  himself  as  set  for  the  defence  of  the  gospel, 
and  be  willing,  so  far  as  he  is  able,  to  defend  it  from 
the  press,  as  well  as  from  the  pulpit.  He  must  be 
punctual  in  attending  the  judicatures  of  the  church, 
and  when  there,  attend  diligently  and  carefully  to  all 
business  to  be  transacted;  and  in  every  concern,  he 
must  act  under  a  deep  sense  of  his  responsibility  to 
his  Master. 

The  duty  which  people  owe  to  their  minister  in 
return,  is  to  pray  for  him  in  their  closets,  in  their  fam- 
ilies, and  in  their  social  prayer  meetings — not  merely 
with  a  formal  mention,  but  with  great  sincerity  and 
earnestness.     "  Brethren,  pray  for  us,"  is  the  exhor- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  179 

tation  and  command  of  an  inspired  apostle;  and  true 
and  important  is  tlie  trite  adage,  "  a  praying  people 
will  make  a  preaching  minister."  The  people  who 
are  blessed  with  faithful  pastors  ought  to  see  in  them 
an  ascension  gift  of  Christ,  and  "  to  esteem  them  very 
highly  in  love  for  their  work's  sake."  At  the  same 
time,  they  are  to  beware  of  idolizing  and  flattering 
them ;  and  of  supposing  that  their  talents  and  labours, 
whatever  they  may  be,  will  either  convince  and  con- 
vert sinners,  or  edify  believers,  without  the  special 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanying  them — 
Paul  may  plant  and  Apollos  water,  "  but  neither  is 
he  that  planteth  any  thing,  neither  he  that  watereth, 
but  God  that  giveth  the  increase."  Besides  praying 
for  him,  as  has  been  recommended,  the  best  expres- 
sions which  a  people  can  make  of  their  esteem  and 
affection  for  their  minister,  is  to  attend  diligently, 
candidly,  and  heedfully  on  his  preaching;  to  receive 
his  private  and  seasonable  admonitions  with  meek- 
ness and  thankfulness;  to  defend  both  his  character 
and  doctrines  against  unjust  impeachments,  slanders, 
misrepresentations,  and  reproaches;  to  make  a  com- 
petent and  comfortable  provision  for  his  worldly  sup- 
port; and  to  be  kind  and  attentive  to  his  family  as 
well  as  to  himself. 

5.  Rulers  and  Ruled. — In  the  term  rulers  we  in- 
clude both  legislators  and  magistrates;  or  those 
who  enact  and  those  who  execute  the  laws. 

In  our  happy  country  the  people  choose  their  own 
legislators.  This  is  an  inestimable  privilege,  and  yet, 
like  every  other  blessing,  it  is  capable  of  abuse.  It 
opens  a  door  for  ambitious  demagogues  to  use  a 
thousand  unlawful  arts  to  deceive  the  people,  and  to 
raise  themselves  to  places  of  power  and  trust.  All 
these  arts  every  conscientious  candidate  for  public 
trust  will  avoid  and  despise.  He  will  view  the  busi- 
ness of  legislation  as  one  that  involves  a  high  degree 
of  responsibility,  for  which  certain  qualifications  are 
necessary,  and  which  he  ought  in  some  good  degree 
to  possess,  or  else  to  decline  the  trust  altogether.  He 
should  seriously  consider  whether  he  is  qualified  to 


180  LECTURES     ON    THE 

be  a  legislator;  and  if  he  judge  that  he  is,  he  should 
still  do  nothing  to  create  an  improper  bias  in  his  own 
favour.  He  should,  avoiding  all  disguise,  frankly, 
explicitly,  and  fully,  avow  his  opinions  and  senti- 
ments. Then,  if  he  is  elected,  he  may  act,  as  he  ever 
ought  to  act,  on  the  conviction  of  his  own  mind,  with- 
out the  fear  of  offending  his  constituents.  In  every 
instance  he  should  appear,  fearlessly  and  decidedly, 
in  favour  of  every  law,  or  every  measure,  which  he 
verily  believes  will  be  for  the  good  of  the  whole  com- 
munity, for  which  he  is  appointed  to  legislate.  Let 
the  popular  current  set  as  it  may,  his  only  inquiry 
should  be,  what  does  the  public  good  really  require — 
that^  he  will  say,  I  must  pursue,  or  I  cannot  keep  a 
conscience  void  of  offence ;  and  that,  therefore,  I  will 
pursue,  whether  I  retain  my  place  and  popularity,  or 
lose  them  both. 

Christ's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  and  all  expe- 
rience shows  that  the  Christian  church  has  invariably 
suffered,  when  the  state  has  interfered  in  its  concerns; 
even  when  not  only  the  professed,  but  the  real  inten- 
tion has  been,  to  show  favour  to  the  church.  The 
concerns  of  the  house  or  kingdom  of  our  Lord,  are 
to  be  managed  solely  by  laws  and  oIRcers  of  his  ap- 
pointment, without  any  interference  from  the  world. 
With  this,  however,  it  is  perfectly  consistent  to  say, 
that  it  is  daring  impiety  for  any  legislature,  where 
the  light  of  revelation  is  enjoyed,  to  make  any  law  in 
violation  of  the  law  of  God,  or  which  shall  legalize 
any  practice  inconsistent  with  that  law.  To  legalize 
such  violation  or  practice,  is  not  to  leave  the  church 
to  herself;  it  is  to  persecute  her,  and  to  set  the  nation 
in  opposition  to  her  divine  Head  and  lawgiver.  It  is, 
in  a  word,  a  national  sin,  exposing  the  whole  com- 
munity to  the  judgments  of  the  God  of  the  whole 
earth;  for  which  there  can  be  no  possible  compensa- 
tion or  equivalent.  I  shall  not  disguise  from  you,  my 
young  friends,  that  I  am  thus  explicit  on  this  point, 
because  I  am  solemnly  convinced,  that  our  nation,  as 
such,  is  at  this  moment  chargeable  with  awful  guilt, 
and  brought   into  awful  danger,  by  having  set  the 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  181 

law  of  the  land  in  direct  opposition  to  the  law  of 
God,  as  expressed  in  the  fourth  precept  of  the  de- 
calogue. Officers  of  the  state  are  required,  in  the 
management  of  the  national  mail,  to  perform  services 
which  they  cannot  render  without  a  manifest  derelic- 
tion of  Christian  duty,  and  a  flagrant  violation  of  the 
command  to  which  I  have  referred. 

The  duty  of  a  legislator,  then,  consists  in  seeing 
that  he  is  qualified  for  the  trust  which  he  sustains; 
in  using  all  his  influence  to  have  such  laws  enacted, 
and  no  other  than  such,  as,  in  his  best  judgment,  will 
most  promote  the  public  good;  and  in  taking  care,  to 
the  extent  of  his  whole  influence,  that  the  laws  of  the 
state  shall  in  no  respect  militate  with  the  laws  of 
God.  His  responsibility  both  to  God  and  man  is 
great;  and  of  this,  a  deep  and  lively  impression  ought 
constantly  to  abide  on  his  mind. 

Speaking  of  the  office  of  the  civil  magistrate,  the 
apostolic  declaration  is,  "  He  is  the  minister  of  God 
to  thee  for  good;  but  if  thou  do  that  which  is  evil,  be 
afraid;  for  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain;  for  he 
is  the  minister  of  God,  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath 
upon  him  that  doth  evil."  It  is  evident  from  this, 
that  the  civil  magistracy  is  a  divine  ordinance;  and  if 
so,  not  only  ought  the  people  over  whom  magistrates 
are  placed  to  render  due  obedience  and  honour  to 
them,  but  magistrates,  on  their  part,  should  deeply  feel 
their  responsibility  to  the  God  whose  ministers  they 
are.  In  the  fear  of  God,  and  in  view  of  the  account 
which  they  are  to  render  to  him,  ought  all  the  duties 
of  their  office  to  be  performed.  This  will  lead  them 
to  a  strict  regard  to  the  divine  laws  and  insututions, 
and  thus  to  recommend  the  observance  of  them  to 
others.  In  such  a  country  as  ours,  where  happily  the 
church  and  state  are  entirely  disconnected,  all  the  di- 
rect influence  which  magistrates  have,  in  the  promo- 
tion of  religion,  is  by  their  example.  But  this  is  a  very 
powerful  influence, and  the  magistrate  who  refuses  it 
to  religion,  sins  both  against  his  God  and  his  country. 
What  then  shall  we  say  of  those  magistrates,  whose 
entire  example  goes  to  promote  vice  and  immorality; 


182 


LE  C  TUBES    ON     THE 


or  who  openly  avow  infidelity,  and  treat  every  divine 
ordinance  with  marked  indignity  and  contempt?  We 
must  say  plainly,  that  they  are  the  scourge  and  curse 
of  that  community,  whose  most  important  interests 
have  been  confided  to  their  guardianship,  and  which 
they  are  sacredly  bound  to  consult.  Magistrates  are 
under  the  obligation  of  a  solemn  oath,  to  discharge 
their  official  duties  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge 
and  understanding.  If  they  would  not  violate  this 
oath,  they  must  strictly  execute  and  enforce  every 
law  that  is  made  for  the  suppression,  or  prevention, 
of  vice  and  immorality. 

Summarily,  then,  the  duty  of  magistrates  consists 
in  giving  to  the  public  the  full  influence  of  a  good 
and  pious  example;  in  the  full  and  faithful  execution 
of  the  laws;  in  administering  justice  between  man 
and  man  purely  and  impartially;  and  we  must  add, 
as  a  matter  of  no  small  importance,  not  only  their 
shunning  to  enkindle  and  cherish  strife,  but  the  con- 
stant use  of  all  proper  endeavours  to  prevent  quarrels 
and  litigation,  and  to  promote  the  peace  and  good 
order  of  society. 

In  this  free  country  the  ruled  choose,  either  tne- 
diately  or  directly,  all  their  rulers.  Legislators  are 
chosen  directly  by  the  people,  and  hence  are  proper- 
ly called  representatives.  In  making  this  choice,  it  is 
the  obvious  duty  of  the  people  to  consider  carefully 
and  conscientiously,  whether  those  to  whom  they 
give  their  suff'rages  are  the  fittest  and  best  men  for 
law  makers,  that  it  is  practicable  for  them  to  elect. 
Neglecting  this,  they  fail  in  their  duty,  and  are  really 
chargeable  both  with  the  folly  and  the  guilt  of  the 
unqualified  or  disqualified  men,  whom  they  made 
their  rejjresentatives.  People  are  exceedingly  apt  to 
censure  the  conduct  of  public  men,  when  as  much 
blame  at  least  belongs  to  themselves,  as  to  those 
whom  they  have  put  into  power.  They  are  so  care- 
less, or  so  partial,  or  become  so  attached  to  a  party, 
that  they  entrust  their  dearest  interests  to  those  who 
mismanage  or  sacrifice  them.  Of  this  mismanage- 
ment or  sacrifice  have  they,  then,  any  more  right  to 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  ]83 

complain,  than  the  individual  has,  who  finds  himself 
a  bankrupt,  in  consequence  of  employing  an  agent 
whom  he  might  have  known  to  be  ahogether  incom- 
petent or  fraudulent — a  dunce  or  a  knave?  He  who 
is  to  exercise  the  elective  franchise,  ought  most  seri- 
ously to  consider,  whether  the  man  for  whom  he  pro- 
poses to  vole  is  really  an  honest  man  or  a  rogue,  an 
ignorant  man  or  one  well  informed,  a  vicious  or  a 
virtuous  man,  a  firm  and  independent  man,  or  one 
who  may  be  awed  or  wheedled  to  do  wrong;  and 
finally,  whether  he  be  a  friend  to  religion  and  good 
morals,  or  an  enemy  to  both.  In  regard  to  this  last 
qualification,  the  artful  and  unprincipled  politicians 
of  our  country  have  endeavoured  to  persuade  the 
community,  that  the  moral  character  and  Christian 
principles  of  a  candidate  for  legislative  trust,  ought 
never  to  be  regarded  or  considered;  and  by  the  aid 
of  party  spirit,  they  have  been  successful  to  a  most 
lamentable  extent.  But  surely  Christians  have  as 
good  a  right  as  infidels  or  profligates,  to  be  pleased 
with  the  entire  principles,  spirit,  and  character  of  the 
men  of  their  choice.  They  certainly  ought  not  to 
choose  a  man  merely  because  he  is  a  Christian.  But 
among  men  who  are  qualified,  by  knowledge  and 
genuine  patriotism,  to  be  the  makers  of  laws,  they 
may  surely  find,  if  not  a  practical  Christian,  at  least 
a  man  who  has  a  sincere  reverence  for  religion.  Our 
country  is  not  yet  in  such  a  wretched  state,  that  en- 
lightened and  patriotic  men  are  not  to  be  found,  ex- 
cept among  sceptics,  profane  swearers,  popularity 
hunters,  cheats,  and  profligates.  The  truth  is.  Chris- 
tians suffer  party  spirit  to  blind  and  mislead  them: 
and  till  they  will  so  far  renounce  this  as  to  refuse 
their  suffrages  to  every  flagrantly  vicious  and  immo- 
ral man,  and  every  known  and  malignant  enemy  to 
religion,  they  themselves  are  chargeable  with  much 
of  the  awful  guilt,  incurred  by  a  nation  whose  laws 
come  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of  God,  and  expose  it 
to  his  frowns  and  judgments. 

The  duty  which  the  ruled,  that  is,  in  our  country, 


1 84  LECTURES    ON     THE 

all  citizens,  owe  to  the  magistrates  who  are  placed 
over  them,  is — 

1.  To  pray  for  them.  "  I  exhort,  therefore,  (says 
the  apostle  Paul,)  that  first  of  all,  supplications, 
prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made 
for  all  men:  for  kings,  and  for  all  that  are  in  autho- 
rity; that  we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in 
all  godliness  and  honesty."  This,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
is  a  duty  too  much  neglected;  and  it  deserves  the 
very  serious  consideration  of  Christians  in  our  coun- 
try, whether,  if  they  had  prayed  more,  and  more 
earnestly,  for  their  lawgivers  and  magistrates,  they 
would  not  have  had  fewer  subjects  for  regret  and 
lamentation,  in  reference  to  certain  laws,  and  usages, 
and  transactions,  and  neglects  of  official  duty,  which 
exist  in  the  state  of  which  they  are  members.  The 
exhortation  of  the  apostle  which  I  have  quoted,  was 
directed  immediately  to  Timothy,  and  through  him, 
doubtless,  to  all  ministers  of  the  gospel,  in  every  age 
of  the  church.  In  every  public  service  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, especially  on  the  Lord's  day,  there  certainly 
ought  to  be  at  least  one  prayer,  in  which  the  blessing 
of  Almighty  God  on  our  country,  and  on  all  its  rulers 
and  magistrates,  should  be  distinctly  and  fervently 
implored;  so  that  the  minister  of  the  gospel  who 
omits  this,  may  justly  be  considered  as  neglecting  an 
important  part  of  his  duty.  On  days  also  of  public 
fasting  and  prayer,  this  subject  of  petition  to  Him 
who  rulelh  over  all,  and  "from  whom  ail  blessings 
flow,"  ought  to  be  particularly  regarded.  But  the 
duty  does  not  end  here.  It  ought  to  have  a  frequent 
mention,  both  in  family  and  secret  prayer;  and  this 
not  merely  as  matter  of  form,  but  as  an  object  of 
great  interest  and  desire. 

2.  It  is  our  duty  to  treat  magistrates  with  due  hon- 
our, obedience,  and  respect.  This  is  distinctly  en- 
joined in  the  New  Testament;  although  the  primitive 
Christians  lived  under  the  government  of  heathen 
magistrates,  by  whom  they  were  often  most  cruelly 
and  unjustly  treated.     How  imperious  is  this  duty, 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  185 

then,  in  a  Christian  community,  and  in  a  country 
where  magistrates  derive  all  their  authority,  ulti- 
mately, from  the  people  themselves?  When  it  is 
found  necessary  to  disapprove  of  public  men,  and 
public  transactions,  it  ought  to  be  done  without  re- 
viling. The  reviling  and  slandering  of  public  men, 
is,  I  really  think,  among  the  crying  sins  of  this  coun- 
try. We  ought  cautiously  to  avoid  it  for  ourselves, 
and  to  frown  on  the  persons  and  publications  charge- 
able with  this  evil — an  evil  at  once  offensive  to  God 
and  injurious  to  our  national  character.  Respect  to 
their  office,  and,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  their  per- 
sons, as  well  as  prompt  obedience  to  all  their  lawful 
commands,  is  due  from  every  citizen,  to  every  magis- 
trate of  our  free  and  happy  country. 

3.  A  ready  and  cheerful  obedience  to  every  law  of 
the  state,  not  inconsistent  with  the  law  of  God,  is  a 
duty  we  owe  to  magistrates.  To  them  we  owe  it, 
that  we  may  not  give  them  hindrance,  nor  unneces- 
sary trouble,  in  the  execution  of  the  law.  Hence  the 
injunction  to  be  subject,  "not  only  for  wrath,"  that 
is,  for  fear  of  the  magistrate's  wrath,  "  but  also  for 
conscience  sake."  Every  conscientious  person  will, 
from  a  regard  to  duty  and  to  God,  be  more  afraid  of 
doing  any  thing  unlawful,  than  of  any  penalty  that 
the  law  or  the  magistrate  can  inflict — he  will  be  a 
law  unto  himself. 

4.  The  cheerful  payment  of  tribute  or  taxes,  is  a 
duty  which  we  owe  to  the  law  and  the  magistracy 
under  which  we  live.  This  also  is  specially  enjoin- 
ed in  the  New  Testament.  "  Render  to  all  their  dues; 
tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due;  custom  to  whom  cus- 
tom; fear  to  whom  fear;  honour  to  whom  honour." 
How,  then,  shall  we  adequately  estimate  the  enor- 
mous guilt  of  those  who  not  only  defraud  the  public 
revenue,  whenever  they  can  do  it  secretly,  but  who, 
to  effect  their  nefarious  purposes,  hesitate  not  to  per- 
jure themselves,  and  to  tempt  others  to  do  it,  by  cus- 
tom house  oaths,  falsely  taken.  The  degree  of  guilt 
incurred  from  this  cause,  in  commercial  nations  espe- 
cially, it  is  truly  fearful  to  contemplate;  and  he  who 

VOL.  II. — 13 


186  LECTURES     ON     THE 

should  devise  an  eftectual  plan  to  prevent,  or  to  di- 
minish it,  would  deserve  to  be  esteemed  among  the 
best  benefactors  of  his  country.  But  it  is  not  enough 
that  we  avoid  the  sin  of  cheating  the  public  revenue; 
we  ought  to  pay  an  equitable  part  of  the  taxes  im- 
posed by  lawful  authority,  without  murmuring  or 
controversy — readily  and  cheerfully — with  as  much 
willingness  as  we  pay  any  private  debt,  for  property 
conveyed  or  services  rendered.  We  have  all  the 
deepest  interest  in  the  public  welfare,  which  cannot 
be  promoted  or  sustained  without  adequate  funds; 
to  which,  therefore,  we  should  make  our  contribu- 
tions promptly  and  without  reluctance. 

5.  It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  magistrates,  or 
public  officers,  need  to  be  aided  or  facilitated  in  the 
discharge  of  their  duty,  in  executing  the  laws;  and  in 
every  case  of  this  kind,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  good 
citizen  to  render  the  requisite  assistance,  to  the  ut- 
most of  his  power.  To  withhold  co-operation  is 
highly  censurable;  but  to  conceal  the  guilty,  or  ob- 
struct the  officers  of  justice,  is  to  become  a  party  with 
the  offender,  and  "  a  partaker  of  other  men's  sins." 

Having  spoken,  and,  as  I  think,  justly,  against  the 
infidelity  of  legislators  and  magistrates,  it  may  be  the 
more  proper,  my  young  friends,  in  concluding  this 
subject,  to  caution  you  against  mistaking  or  misap- 
plying what  I  have  said.  This  I  shall  do  in  the  words 
of  our  Confession  of  Faith — "  Infidelity,  or  difference 
in  religion,  doth  not  make  void  the  magistrate's  just 
and  legal  authority,  nor  free  the  people  from  their 
due  obedience  to  him." 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  187 


LECTURE  XLIX. 


6.  Old  and  Young.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  aged  to 
counsel  the  young;  tenderly  to  admonish  and  faithful- 
ly to  warn  them;  and  to  set  before  them  a  good  and 
edifying  example.  There  is  much  in  iniman  life 
which  books  can  but  imperfectly  teach,  and  which 
can  be  fully  understood  only  by  experience.  The 
benefit  of  this  experimental  knowledge,  those  who 
are  advanced  in  life  ought,  as  they  have  opportunity, 
and  so  far  as  it  is  practicable,  to  afford  to  those  who 
have,  as  yet,  but  little  experience  of  their  own.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  amiable  traits  of  character  in  a  man 
who  has  lived  long,  seen  much,  and  observed  accu- 
rately, that  he  takes  pleasure  in  communicating  to 
youth,  in  a  kind  and  winning  manner,  the  counsel, 
admonition,  and  warning,  which  his  knowledge  of 
human  life  and  the  human  heart  enables  him  to  give; 
and  which  may  preserve  those  who  are  addressed 
from  a  thousand  follies  and  vices,  into  which  they 
might  otherwise  fall.  What  a  treasure  of  invaluable 
maxims  for  the  conduct  of  life,  and  of  warnings 
against  the  sins  and  snares  to  which  youth  and  inex- 
perience are  exposed,  has  been  left  us  in  the  book  of 
Proverbs.  If  I  might  prevail  with  you,  my  young 
friends,  to  read  that  book  throughout  once  every  year, 
for  ten  years  to  come,  should  you  continue  so  long  in 
life,  and  to  read  always  with  great  care,  self-examina- 
tion and  application,  and  with  prayer  to  God  for  his 
blessing — I  should  render  you  a  service,  the  value  of 
which  would  be  beyond  all  estimate.  To  this  there- 
fore, I  earnestly  exhort  you,  that  I  may  perform,  in 
part,  the  very  duty  which  I  am  now  showing  to  be 
incumbent  on  the  aged  toward  the  young. 

"The  hoary  head,  says  Solomon,  is  a  crown  of 
glory,  if  it  be  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness." 


188  LECTURES    ON    THE 

*  There  is  in  the  example  of  an  aged  Christian,  who 
i  has  long  and  eminently  exhibited  the  influence  of  gos- 
I  pel  principles,  a  dignity  and  anthority,  which  can 
I  scarcely  fail  to  be  felt  by  all  with  whom  he  has  inter- 
I  course,  and  especially  by  the  young.  It  aff'ords  a 
living  and  palpable  proof  of  the  excellence  of  genuine 
Christianity,  which  recommends  and  enforces  it,  more 
powerfully  than  can  be  done  by  all  the  eloquence  of 
language.  Such  an  example,  therefore,  every  aged 
Christian  should  desire  and  endeavour  to  exhibit. 
Avoiding  all  levity,  and  all  moroseness,  and  all  haugh- 
tiness, and  every  thing  unbecoming  the  elevated 
standing  which  he  is  honoured  to  occupy  in  the  great 
family  of  Christ,  he  should  cultivate  a  serious  cheer- 
fulness, great  meekness,  patience  under  infirmities, 
tenderness  of  feeling,  habitual  kindness  and  conde- 
scension to  all,  and  especially  to  the  young,  that  he 
may  gain  their  affections,  as  well  as  command  their 
respect,  and  thus  be  able  to  seize  with  advantage, 
every  opportunity  to  advise  and  counsel  them  for 
their  good;  and  above  all,  to  engage  them,  in  the 
morning  of  life,  to  choose  and  "seek  that  good  part 
which  shall  not  be  taken  away  from  thera." 

The  duties  of  the  young  to  the  old  are,  to  respect 
and  honour  them,  to  hearken  to  their  advice  and  ad- 
monitions, to  be  thankful  even  for  their  seasonable 
reproofs,  and  to  endeavour  to  profit  by  the  instruction 
they  communicate,  and  the  example  they  exhibit. 

When  old  age  is  seen,  as  alas!  it  is  sometimes  seen, 
in  connexion  with  vice,  profaneness,  or  profligacy,  it 
certainly  is  not  entitled  to  respect  and  honour  from 
any  one.  Yet  even  in  this  case,  the  young  should 
treat  the  veteran  sinner  in  a  manner  somewhat  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  they  may  properly  use  to- 
wards a  vicious  individual  of  their  own  age.  There 
should  be  a  reserve,  at  least  in  addressing  him  per- 
sonally, and  a  recognized  deference  due  to  his  years, 
which  towards  an  equal  of  a  similar  character,  it 
would  not  be  necessary  to  observe.  But  when  age 
is  not  degraded  by  vice,  and  especially  when  it  is  dis- 
tinguished by  virtue  and  piety,  the  injunction  of  holy 


SHORTER     CATECHISM. 


189 


writ  should  be  felt  in  all  its  force.  "  Thou  shalt  rise 
up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  honour  the  face  of  the 
old  man."  There  is  not  a  more  unamiable,  or  a  more 
unpromising  feature  of  character,  in  a  young  person 
of  either  sex,  than  to  treat  virtuous  old  age  with  dis- 
respect, or  even  with  disregard.  Show  me  a  youth 
who  has  such  a  confidence  in  himself,  or  herself,  as  to 
disregard  the  opinions  of  one  of  reputation  for  wisdom 
and  discretion,  and  who  has  seen  many  years,  and  I 
will  show  you  a  candidate  for  misfortune  and  misery, 
and  probably  for  ruin.  Show  me  a  youth  who  can 
treat  respectable  age  with  levity  and  ridicule,  or  even 
with  marked  neglect,  and  I  will  show  you  one  of  either 
a  weak  head,  or  a  hard  heart,  or  probably  of  both 
united.  A  sensible  and  virtuous  youth  will  esteem 
it  a  high  privilege,  to  have  access  to  the  counsels  of 
years  and  experience.  He  will  listen  to  the  opinions 
and  maxims  which  the  sage  delivers,  and  treasure 
them  in  his  memory,  for  the  conduct  of  his  own  life. 
He  will  reverence  and  venerate  every  hoary  head 
that  is  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness,  he  will 
give  preference  on  all  occasions  to  those  who  possess 
this  character.  They  will  receive  from  him  all  those 
attentions  and  kindnesses  which  indicate  unaffected 
veneration;  and  while  he  marks  their  virtuous  ex- 
ample for  imitation,  he  will  also  find  in  it  a  powerful 
excitement  and  encouragement  to  his  own  well  do- 
ing— in  view  of  the  honour  and  usefulness  which  it 
brings  to  its  possessor  in  this  world,  and  the  cheering 
prospect  which  it  opens  for  him,  in  the  eternity  which 
is  to  follow. 

7.  The  mutual  duties  of  the  possessors  of  superior 
and  inferior  gifts  and  graces,  will  require  but  a  very 
summary  statement,  as  they  have  unavoidably  been 
anticipated,  in  the  illustration  of  the  foregoing  par- 
ticulars. "  The  duties  of  those  who  have  a  larger 
measure  of  gifts  and  graces  conferred  upon  them,  to- 
wards such  as  have  a  lesser  share  of  the  same,  are — 
to  be  exemplary  in  humility  and  self-denial,  as  having 
nothing  but  what  they  have  received;  to  be  com- 
municative of  what  the  Lord  has  freely  given  them; 


190  LECTURES     ON     THE 

and  to  improve  their  talents  for  the  benefit  of  them- 
selves and  others:  and  the  duties  of  such  as  arop 
weaker  in  gifts  and  graces,  towards  those  that  are 
stronger,  are — to  be  followers  of  them,  in  so  far  as 
they  are  followers  of  Christ;  to  be  willing  to  learn 
from  their  experiences;  and  to  '  covet  earnestly  the 
best  gifts.'  "* 

On  the  mutual  duties  o/" equals,  I  shall  enter  into 
no  formal  discussion — not  because  those  duties  are  un- 
important, but  because  they  are  so  obvious  that  a  par- 
ticular specification  of  them  seems  to  me  unnecessary. 
They  are  intimated  in  the  very  term  equals;  and  they 
will  readily  occur  to  yourselves,  if  you  will  only  re- 
member and  meditate  on  the  two  following  short  texts 
of  Holy  Scripture — "  Be  kindly  affectioned  one  to 
another,  in  honour  preferring  one  another."  And, 
"Consider  one  another,  to  provoke  unto  love  and  to 
good  works."  Our  Larger  Catechism  teaches  us, 
that  the  sins  of  equals  are — "the  undervaluing  of  the 
worth,  envying  the  gifts,  grieving  at  the  advancement 
or  prosperity  one  of  another,  and  usurping  pre-emi- 
nence over  one  another." 

Let  us  now  consider  the  reason  annexed  to  the  fifth 
commandment — which  is,  "A  promise  of  long  life 
and  prosperity,  (as  far  as  it  shall  serve  for  God's  glory 
and  their  own  good)  to  all  such  as  keep  this  com- 
mandment." 

In  the  decalogue  itself,  the  promise  before  us  is 
thus  expressed—"  That  thy  days  may  be  long  upon 
the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee."  There 
is  doubtless  here  a  reference  to  a  special  blessing, 
which  the  ancient  chosen  people  of  God,  while  they 
were  faithful  to  their  covenant  engagements,  were  to 
receive  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  But  although  there 
might  be  something  special  in  the  command,  when 
made  to  the  ancient  Israelites,  as  in  the  whole  of  the 
Mosaic  dispensation  there  was  a  greater  reference  to 
temporal  rewards,  and  punishments  too,  than  there  is 
under  the  gospel,  yet  we  find  the  apostle  Paul  en- 

*  Fisher. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  191 

forcing  this  command  on  Christians,  by  the  very  pro- 
mise now  under  consideration — "  Children,  obey  your 
parents  in  the  Lord;  for  this  is  right.  Honour  thy 
father  and  mother  (which  is  the  first  commandment 
with  promise)  that  it  may  be  well  with  thee,  and  thou 
mayest  hve  long  on  the  earth."  This  is  called  the 
first  commandment  with  promise, because  it  is  the  first 
and  indeed  the  only  command,  of  the  second  table, 
which  has  an  explicit  promise  annexed  to  it.  And 
the  promise,  it  is  to  be  observed,  refers,  as  the  words 
of  the  apostle  clearly  show,  to  temporal  good — to 
worldly  prosperity.  Not  but  that  spiritual  and  eter- 
nal benefits  will  also  accrue  to  those  who  obey  this 
command,  as  well  as  the  others,  from  evangelical  mo- 
tives; but  because  God  has  seen  fit  to  promise  to  an 
obedience  to  this,  more  than  to  any  other,  a  reward  on 
this  side  the  grave.  "  Godliness,"  in  all  its  extent,  is, 
we  know,  "profitable  unto  all  things, having  promise 
of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come." 
But  probably  a  special  temporal  reward  is  stipulated 
in  this  commandment,  "  to  show  the  great  regard 
God  has  to  the  lawful  authority  of  parents,  and  to  en- 
gage children  to  behave  dutifully  toward  them." 

It  would  be  easy  to  show,  by  citing  a  number  of 
passages  of  Scripture,  that  the  genuine  spirit  of  the 
promise  we  consider  is  expressed  in  our  Catechism, 
when  it  is  said,  that  it  is  "a  promise  of  long  life  and 
prosperity,  as  far  as  it  shall  serve  for  God's  glory  and 
their  own  good,"  to  the  parties  concerned.  Such,  in- 
deed m.ust  of  necessity  be  the  tenor  of  the  promise, 
for  otherwise  it  would  lose  its  nature,  and  become  a 
threatening.  A  long  life,  without  prosperity — a  long 
life  of  pinching  poverty,  of  constant  misery,  of  un- 
ceasing disappointment,  of  uninterrupted  pain  or  sick- 
ness, or  of  disgrace  and  infamy — would  be  one  of  the 
greatest  temporal  calamities  that  a  mortal  could  ex- 
perience. It  is  only  a  long  life,  with  so  much  that  is 
desirable  running  through  it  as  to  denominate  it  pros- 
perous, that  can  with  any  propriety  be  considered 
as  a  blessing.     So  likewise  the  limitation  of  the  pro- 


192  LECTURES    ON     THE 

mised  prosperity  to  the  measure  that  shall  "  serve  for 
God's  glory  and  their  own  good,"  of  the  parties  con- 
cernedj  must  manifestly  be  intended  in  the  assurance 
given.  God  never  did,  and  never  will,  promise  any 
thing  inconsistent  with  his  glory,  or  not  subservient 
to  it;  and  no  good  man  will  ever  wish  that  he  should. 
With  every  such  man,  the  very  thought  of  receiving 
any  thing  dishonourable  to  God,  would  prevent  his 
deriving  from  it  any  enjoyment:  and  in  like  manner 
it  would  be  most  irrational  for  him  to  wish  for  any 
thing,  that  would  not  be  for  his  own  real  and  ultimate 
good.  He  will  even  pray  to  be  disappointed  in  the 
desire  and  pursuit  of  every  object,  the  possession  of 
which  the  all-wise  God  may  see  would  be  injurious 
to  him — injurious  to  his  highest,  his  eternal  happi- 
ness, if  his  desire  should  be  gratified,  and  his  mistaken 
pursuit  be  successful.  Neither  will  he  wish  to  be  ex- 
empted from  that  measure  of  affliction,  of  what  kind 
soever  it  may  be,  which  will,  under  the  support  and 
blessing  of  his  heavenly  Father,  "  work  out  for  him  a 
far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory." 
Nay,  even  in  regard  to  the  continuance  of  life  itself, 
who  does  not  see,  that  it  may  be,  and  often  is,  a  great 
mercy  to  be  taken  away  from  "  the  evil  to  come;"  and 
that  the  allotment  of  the  dutiful  and  pious  child  is 
most  enviable,  who  is  called,  by  an  early  death,  to 
spend  a  portion  of  his  existence  in  the  joys  of  heaven, 
rather  than  be  left  to  pass  it  amidst  the  unavoidable 
conflicts  and  temptations  of  this  unsatisfying  and  sin- 
ful world. 

Under  the  necessary  limitations,  or  conditions, 
which  have  now  been  explained,  the  promise  in  the 
precept  will  most  assuredly  be  fulfilled.  The  order- 
ing of  every  man's  lot  in  life  is  by  the  sovereign  and 
all  disposing  will  and  providence  of  God;  and  having 
promised  this  blessing,  he  will  take  effectual  care  that 
it  shall  be  realized.  There  is  moreover,  a  natural  and 
beautiful  connexion,  which  we  ought  to  notice,  be- 
tween the  performance  of  the  duty  enjoined  in  this 
command,  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  stipulated  bene- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  193 

fit.  The  duty  prescribed  is  obedience  to  parents,  the 
benefit  promised  is  long  life  and  prosperity.  Now, 
consider  the  consequences  of  obedience  and  disobedi- 
ence to  parents,  which  often  follow  in  fact,  and  as 
you  may  have  observed  them  for  yourselves — conse- 
quences that  have  a  direct  influence  on  long  life  and 
prosperity.  How  often  has  disobedience  to  the  com- 
mands, or  to  the  counsel  and  advice  of  parents,  been 
productive  of  disastrous  accidents  or  occurrences' 
which  have  either  occasioned  sudden  death,  or  after 
a  period  of  extreme  suffering,  have  greatly  shortened 
life?  How  frequently  by  a  course  of  vice,  have  dis- 
eases been  contracted,  or  the  constitution  been  broken 
down,  and  an  early  grave  been  found,  by  those  who 
would  have  escaped  all  those  calamities,  if  they  had 
only  been  obedient  to  parental  commands  and  admo- 
nitions? So  also,  in  regard  to  worldly  wealth  and 
prosperity,  how  many  fortunes  have  been  squandered 
away,  or  otherwise  lost,  and  how  many  individuals 
have  become,  or  remained  poor,  through  life — per- 
haps been  reduced  to  absolute  want  or  beggary — by 
disregarding  the  requisitions,  and  directions,  and  en- 
treaties, of  parents?  while  others,  with  no  higher  ad- 
vantages, have  remained  in  affluence,  or  rising  to  it, 
by  carefully  adopting  that  system  for  the  management 
of  their  aft'airs,  or  pursuing  that  course  of  industry 
and  economy,  which  parental  affection  and  authority 
recommended  and  enjoined.  Thus  you  perceive,  that 
while  the  promise  is  sure,  and  special  providential  in- 
terpositions are  doubtless  sometimes  employed  in  its 
accomplishment,  yet  its  ordinary  fulfilment  requires 
nothing  more  than  the  operation  of  those  well-known 
causes  and  effects,  which  God  has  been  pleased  to 
establish  in  the  moral  as  well  as  in  the  natural  world. 
You  have  been  much  longer  detained,  my  young 
friends,  than  I  at  first  intended,  with  the  explanation 
and  inculcation  of  the  duties  enjoined  in  this  fifth 
■  commandment.  But  I  do  not  regret  the  scope  I  have 
taken.  The  precept  has  a  special  relation  to  youth, 
and  therefore  in  addressing  you  it  demanded  a  full 


194  LECTURES    ON    THE 

consideration.  Bat  in  truth,  as  heretofore  hinted  its 
spirit  reaches  to  all  relative  duties— On  the  faithful 
discharge  of  these  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the 
social  state  of  man,  in  all  its  forms  and  modifications, 
essentially  depend;  and  without  a  conscientious  re- 
gard to  these  duties,  there  can  be  no  true  religion,  and 
no  rational  expectation  of  the  happiness  of  heaven. 
Let  what  you  have  heard,  therefore,  sink  deep  into 
your  hearts,  and  let  your  lives  demonstrate  that  you 
are  candidates  for  the  temporal  blessings  promised  to 
those  who  keep  this  commandment,  and  the  rational 
expectants  of  the  higher  felicities  of  a  future  and  eter- 
nal state. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  195 


LECTURE  L. 


The  subject  of  the  ensuing  lecture  is  the  sixth  com- 
mandment, which  is — "  Thou  shall  not  kill."  Ac- 
cording to  our  Catechism,  "  The  sixth  commandment 
requireth,  all  lawful  endeavours  to  preserve  our  own 
life  and  the  life  of  others:"  And  it  "  forbiddeth  the 
taking  away  of  our  own  life,  or  the  life  of  our  neigh- 
bour unjustly,  and  whatsoever  tendeth  thereunto." 

The  love  of  life  is  the  strongest  of  all  our  natural 
instincts;  and  the  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  our 
Creator  in  making  it  so,  is  obvious;  since  on  the  pre- 
servation of  our  life  all  the  purposes  of  our  existence 
in  this  world  depend.  Dear,  however,  as  life  is  to 
every  human  being,  we  are  not  to  use  for  its  preser- 
vation any  other  than  "  lawful  endeavours ;"  and 
must  be  ready  to  resign  it,  rather  than  violate  our  duty, 
to  him  who  gave  it.  The  cases  are  not  a  few,  in 
which  duty  must  be  preferred  to  life.  Of  such  a  pre- 
ference, the  whole  host  of  Christian  martyrs  have  ex- 
hibited noble  examples.  Our  Saviour  has  told  us  in  the 
most  emphatic  language,  that  if  we  do  not  love  him 
more  than  "our  own  life,"  we  cannot  be  his  disciples. 

In  our  larger  Catechism  we  have  a  most  excellent 
and  accurate  specification  of  the  lawful  means,  or 
endeavours,  to  be  employed — and  remember,  my  dear 
youth,  that  we  are  not  merely  permilted,  but  bound 
in  duty,  to  employ  them — for  the  preservation  and 
prolongation  of  our  lives.  "The  duties  required  in 
the  sixth  commandment,  says  the  Catechism,  are,  all 
careful  studies,  and  lawful  endeavours,  to  preserve 
the  life  of  ourselves  and  others,  by  resisting  all  thoughts 
and  purposes,  subduing  all  passions,  and  avoiding  all 
occasions,  temptations,  and  practices,  which  tend  to 
the  unjust  taking  away  the  life  of  any;  by  just  defence 
thereof  against  violence;  patient  bearing  of  the  hand 
of  God;  quietness  of  mind,  cheerfulness  of  spirit,  and 


196  LECTURES     ON    THE 

sober  use  of  meat,  drink,  physic,  sleep,  labour,  and 
recreations;  by  charitable  thoughts,  love,  compassion, 
meekness,  gentleness,  kindness,  peaceable,  mild,  and 
courteous  speeches  and  behaviour  ;  forbearing,  readi- 
ness to  be  reconciled,  patient  bearing  and  forgiving 
of  injuries,  and  requiting  good  for  evil;  comforting 
and  succouring  the  distressed,  and  protecting  and  de- 
fending the  innocent."  I  recommend  to  you,  my 
young  friends,  to  meditate  attentively  on  every  par- 
ticular— I  had  almost  said  on  every  word — that  is 
contained  in  this  quotation.  The  duties  specified  are 
plain  as  well  as  important — It  is  consideration,  and 
not  explanation,  that  they  require.  I  add  a  few  re- 
marks on  that  article  which  teaches  as  a  duty,  "a  just 
defence  of  our  lives  against  violence."  "  If  there  be 
only  a  design,  or  conspiracy  against  our  lives,  but  no 
immediate  attempt  made  to  take  them  away,  we  are 
to  defend  ourselves  by  endeavouring  to  put  him  that 
designed  the  execrable  fact,  out  of  a  capacity  of  hurt- 
ing us,  by  having  recourse  to  the  protection  of  the 
law;  whereby  he  may  be  restrained  from  doing  it,  or 
we  secured ;  this  was  the  method  that  Paul  took  when 
the  Jews  had  bound  themselves  with  an  oath  to  slay 
him;  he  informed  the  chief  captain  of  this  conspiracy, 
and  had  recourse  to  the  law  for  his  safety.  If  there 
be  a  present  attempt  made  against  our  lives,  we 
should  rather  choose  to  disarm  or  fly  from  the  enemy, 
than  take  away  his  life ;  but  if  this  cannot  be  done, 
so  that  we  must  either  lose  our  own  lives,  or  take 
away  his,  we  do  not  incur  the  least  guilt,  or  break  this 
commandment,  if  we  take  away  his  life  to  preserve  our 
own ;  especially  if  we  were  not  first  in  the  quarrel, 
nor  gave  occasion  to  it  by  any  injurious  or  unlawful 
practices."*  Defensive  war  is  justifiable,  on  the  very 
same  ground  as  personal  defence — It  is,  so  to  speak, 
nothing  more  than  \\\e  personal  defence  of  a  commu- 
nity, instead  of  an  individual.  All  proper  and  practi- 
cable means  to  avoid  it,  are  first  to  be  carefully  and 
conscientiously  used;  but  if  these  prove  utterly  inef- 

*  Ridgley. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  197 

fectual,  there  is  no  dictate  of  moral  sentiment,  nor 
precept  of  inspiration,  that  forbids  a  nation  or  com- 
munity to  defend  itself  by  arms,  against  the  lawless 
violence  of  an  invader.  It  is  not  credible,  it  seems  to 
me,  if,  as  some  maintain,  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  ab- 
solutely prohibits  war  in  all  cases,  that  there  should 
not  only  be  no  explicit  prohibition  of  it  in  the  New 
Testament,  but  that  the  forerunner  of  Christ  should 
have  actually  prescribed  rules  for  a  military  life  (Luke 
iii.  14;)  and  that  a  military  officer  should  have  been 
commended  by  the  Saviour  himself,  as  having  greater 
faith  than  he  had  found  in  any  other  individual  in 
Israel;  (Matth.  viii.  10;)  should  have  received  a  spe- 
cial favour  in  the  miraculous  healing  of  his  dying 
daughter,  and  not  a  single  intimation  have  been  given 
him  that  his  professional  pursuits  were  unlawful  or 
censurable.  Similar  remarks  are  applicable  to  the 
pious  centnrion  Cornelius.  We  certainly  ought  to 
look  forward  with  joy  to  the  time,  and  pray  for  its 
speedy  arrival,  "  when  nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword 
against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any 
moreP  But  this  is  no  way  inconsistent  with  main- 
taining the  lawfulness  of  defensive  war.  Offensive 
war  is  certainly  inconsistent  with  the  sixth  command- 
ment. Let  this  entirely  cease,  and  the  other  will  cease 
of  course — Where  there  is  no  attack,  there  can  be  no 
defence. 

We  are  to  use  the  same  care,  and  the  same  means, 
to  preserve  the  lives  of  others  as  our  own.  And  I 
see  not  how  they  who  insist  on  the  unlawfulness  of 
taking  away  life  in  any  case  whatever,  could  free 
themselves  from  the  charge  of  blood-guiltiness,  if  they 
would  suffer  a  blood-thirsty  wretch  to  murder,  iipt 
only  themselves,  but  a  whole  family,  rather  than  pre- 
vent it,  when  it  was  practicable,  by  taking  the  life  of 
the  assassin,  and  when  it  could  not  be  prevented  in 
any  other  way.  Can  he  be  free  from  the  guilt  of 
blood,  who  permits  a  murderer  to  destroy  the  in- 
nocent? 

When  lawful  means  for  the  preservation  of  life  are 
mentioned,  it  is  implied  that  there  are  means  which 


198 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


are  unlawful.  In  no  possible  circumstances,  as  al- 
ready intimated,  are  we  permitted  to  yield  our  con- 
sent to  violate  any  of  the  known  commands  of  God, 
in  order  to  preserve  our  lives.  We  are  to  obey  him, 
and  leave  it  with  him  to  dispose  of  us.  Some  have 
maintained  and  taught,  that  it  is  lawful  to  tell  a  de- 
liberate falsehood,  in  order  to  save  life,  and  even  to 
preserve  property;  as  in  the  case  of  a  robber,  who 
threatens  death  if  his  demands  are  refused.  But  this 
is  contrary  to  Scripture,  which  makes  no  provision, 
either  by  doctrine  or  commendable  example,  for  such 
a  case.  It  is  by  no  means  certain,  either  that  the 
deadly  threat  will  be  fulfilled,  if  compliance  is  refused, 
or  that  compliance  itself  will  prevent  the  fulfilment. 
It  is  best  to  adhere  to  truth,  so  far  as  we  speak  at  all 
— for  we  are  not  obliged  to  tell  the  whole  truth — and 
to  leave  the  event  with  God.  To  die  with  a  lie  upon 
his  tongue,  must  be  an  awful  termination  of  life,  to 
any  one  who  believes  in  a  future  state  of  retribution. 

The  life  of  the  soul  is  still  more  important  than  the 
life  of  the  body;  and  this  commandment  doubtless 
implies,  that  both  in  regard  to  ourselves  and  others, 
all  lawful  means  are  to  be  used  to  preserve  from  final 
destruction,  this  better  part  of  our  nature.  It  is  to 
this  that  the  latter  part  of  the  quotation  which  T  have 
recommended  to  your  serious  meditation,  particularly 
refers. 

In  considering  what  the  precept  before  us  forbids, 
the  "  taking  away  of  our  own  life,"  first  demands 
attention.  This,  in  all  imaginable  cases,  is  an  awful 
violation  of  the  commandment.  "  It  is  directly  op- 
posed to  the  natural  principle  of  self-preservation  im- 
planted in  us;  it  argues  the  highest  impatience,  and 
rooted  discontent,  with  our  lot  in  the  present  world: 
it  is  an  impious  invasion  of  the  prerogative  of  God, 
as  the  sole  author  and  disposer  of  life;  and  a  most 
daring  and  presumptuous  rushing  upon  death,  and 
an  awful  eternity."*  All  the  examples  of  self-mur- 
der given  in  Scripture,  are  of  men  notoriously  im- 

*  Fisher. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  1 99 

pious  and  abandoned;  such  as  Saul,  Ahitophel,  and 
Judas.  We  have  not  a  single  example  of  a  good 
man,  who  was  permitted  to  lay  violent  hands  on 
himself.  The  case  of  Samson  is  not  a  real  exception. 
He  did  not  seek  his  own  death,  but  as  it  was  con- 
nected with  the  destruction  of  a  multitude  of  the  bit- 
ter enemies  of  his  country  and  his  God — an  act  of 
heroic  self-devotedness,  which  has  always  command- 
ed the  admiration  of  men,  and  for  which  Samson  had 
the  approbation,  and  even  the  miraculous  assistance 
of  Jehovah.  You  should  carefully  remember,  my  dear 
youth,  what  is  intimated  in  the  quotation  from  the 
Larger  Catechism,  that  the  spirit  of  this  command 
extends  to  all  those  passions  and  practices  which 
tend  to  the  destruction  or  the  shortening  of  human 
life.  All  these  are  a  species  of  suicide;  and  indeed 
they  often  lead  to  the  overt  act;  such  as  the  im- 
moderate indulgence  of  any  passion,  as  love,  hatred, 
fear,  anxiety,  yielding  to  discontent,  dejection,  and 
impatience;  prodigality  in  expense;  excess  in  meat, 
or  drink,  or  their  opposites  of  extreme  abstinence  and 
fasting;  refusing  to  take  the  nourishment  necessary 
to  preserve  the  health  of  the  body,  or  the  medicines 
necessary  to  restore  health,  in  cases  of  sickness  or  dis- 
ease. Intemperance  and  gambling  lead  almost  di- 
rectly to  self  destruction. 

As  we  are  in  no  case  to  take  away  our  own  lives, 
so  we  are  never  to  take  away  the  life  of  our  neigh- 
bour unlawfully.  If  we  occasion  the  death  of  our 
neighbour  without  design  or  malice,  we  contract  no 
guilt.  Cases  of  this  kind  not  unfrequently  occur,  by 
what  are  called  unavoidable  accidents;  and  some- 
times a  man's  dearest  friend  becomes  the  destroyer 
of  his  life.  If,  however,  there  has  been  carelessness, 
or  inattention,  in  the  act  which  occasions  the  death 
of  a  fellow  creature,  the  author  of  that  act,  though 
certainly  not  a  murderer,  is  not  wholly  free  from 
guilt:  and  indeed  where  no  guilt  is  incurred,  a  good 
man  will  always  regard  it  as  a  deeply  afflictive  oc- 
currence in  Providence,  when  he  is  permitted  to  be 
the   cause  of  his  neighbour's  death.     The  various 


200  LECTURES     ON     THE 

kinds  of  homicide  are,  by  the  laws  of  all  well  regula- 
ted societies,  accurately  defined,  and  the  degree  of 
criminality  attached  to  such  as  involve  guilt,  is  care- 
fully discriminated. 

The  taking  away  the  life  of  a  human  being,  with 
deliberation  and  design,  or  with  what  is  usually  called 
"malice  aforethought,"  constitutes  what  in  our  lan- 
guage is  called  murder,  and  involves  guilt  of  the 
most  aggravated  kind.  When  the  punishment  of 
murder  was  prescribed  to  Noah  and  his  sons,  the 
reason  assigned  for  it  was,  that  "in  the  image  of  God 
made  he  man;"  on  which  Scott  very  justly  remarks 
in  his  commentary,  that  "  though  the  moral  image  of 
God  in  which  man  was  at  first  created  be  defaced, 
yet  the  natural  image  remains :  and  it  is  the  most 
daring  act  of  rebellion  against  God,  to  assault  his 
visible  image  on  earth,  and  destroy  the  life  which  he 
communicated;  and  it  is  observable  that  the  reason 
given  for  the  punishment  of  the  murderer  with  death, 
is  taken  from  the  aflVont  which  he  offers  to  God,  not 
from  the  injury  which  he  does  to  man."  We  live  at 
a  period,  my  young  friends,  in  which  much  is  said 
and  done  to  correct  the  sanguinary  character  of  our 
penal  code  of  laws.  In  this  I  do  most  sincerely  re- 
joice; being  of  the  mind  that  but  iQ\^,  if  any  crimes, 
beside  murder  and  that  which  plainly  involves  its 
guilt,  ought  to  be  punished  with  death.  But  to  ex- 
empt deliberate  murder  from  this  penalty,  would  un- 
questionably be  an  awful  extreme  on  the  olher  hand. 
It  is  idle  and  palpably  false,  to  represent,  as  some  do, 
that  the  declaration,  "  whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood 
by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed,"  is  nothing  more 
than  a  part  of  the  ceremonial  law  of  the  Jews.  This 
was  the  law  given  to  Noah  immediately  after  the 
deluge,  more  than  eight  hundred  years  before  the  in- 
stitutions of  Moses  existed.  Those  institutions  did 
no  more  than  recognize  the  validity  of  this  law, 
which  was  manifestly  intended  to  be  binding  on  the 
whole  human  race,  to  the  end  of  time.  Hence  I 
agree  entirely  with  the  excellent  commentator  already 
quoted,  in  his  remarks  on   the   Divine   declaration 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  201 

which  has  just  been  repeated.  He  says — "  From  this 
energetic  declaration  it  certainly  follows,  that  wilful 
murder  ought  invariably,  in  all  communities,  to  be 
punished  with  death;  whatever  form  it  assumes,  or 
however  it  may,  by  specious  but  delusive  pretences, 
be  extenuated;  and  that  God  will  himself  require  it 
of  those  who  suffer  the  murderer  to  escape;  so  that 
the  punishment  of  murder  will,  in  some  way,  be  in- 
flicted on  them  as  accessaries  to  the  crime."  We 
may,  therefore,  well  tremble  for  our  country,  if  wil- 
ful murder  is  by  law  exempted  from,  the  punishment 
of  death.  Our  land  will  be  defiled  by  blood.  Indeed 
such  defilement  it  has,  in  some  measure,  already  con- 
tracted, by  not  punishing  with  death  the  fashionable 
murders  which  are  committed  in  duels.  These  are 
often  murders  of  the  most  deliberate  and  aggravated 
kind ;  and  I  am  not  aware  that  in  a  single  instance 
they  have,  in  our  country,  been  visited  witli  the  pen- 
alty which  the  laws  both  of  God  and  man  denounce 
upon  the  perpetrators.  We  see  then,  that  there  are 
cases  in  which  it  is  lawful  to  take  away  the  life  of  a 
fellow  creature;  nay,  in  which  it  is  contrary  to  the 
law  of  God  to  forbear  to  do  so.  Magistrates  are  ap- 
pointed for  this  purpose,  in  all  well  ordered  commu- 
nities; and  they  have  a  high  responsibility  for  the 
faithful  execution  of  the  sacred  trust  confided  to  them. 
And  in  cases  where  murderers  of  every  description 
escape  punishment  from  the  hands  of  men,  they  are 
often  given  up  of  God  to  the  horrors  of  a  guilty  con- 
science— sometimes  to  such  a  degree  as  to  confess 
their  crime,  and  even  to  seek  the  punishment  which 
for  a  time  they  had  avoided.  In  other  instances,  the 
most  marked  interpositions  of  Providence  have  been 
witnessed,  to  detect  murderers  and  bring  them  to  jus- 
tice. It  has  even  passed  into  a  vulgar  proverb,  that 
"murder  will  out." 

But  as  in  regard  to  ourselves,  so  also  in  regard  to 
our  neighbour,  this  command  may  be  violated  in  the 
sight  of  God,  where  there  is  no  overt  act.  He  who 
desires  to  take  away  the  life  of  his  neighbour,  and  is 
prevented  only  by  fear,  or  the  want  of  a  favourable 

VOL.  II. — 14 


202  LECTURES     OJV    THE 

opportunity,  is  as  really  a  murderer  in  the  sight  of 
God,  as  if  he  had  perpetrated  the  guilty  deed.  Nor 
is  any  one  free  from  the  charge  of  violating  this  com- 
mand, who  indulges  in  any  of  the  malignant  passions; 
such  as  implacable  hatred,  desire  of  revenge,  corro- 
ding envy,  and  causeless  or  excessive  anger.  When 
anger  is  justifiable — as  we  must  admit  that  it  some- 
times is,  since  on  one  occasion  we  read  that  our  Sa- 
viour was  angry,  and  the  apostle  Paul  says,  "  be  an- 
gry and  sin  not" — it  will  not  transport  a  man  beyond 
himself,  but  be  tempered  by  reason  and  self-com- 
mand, be  of  short  duration,  and  never  be  followed  by 
a  hatred  of  the  offender,  but  by  compassion,  and  a 
desire  to  reclaim  him  by  acts  of  kindness — "  to  heap 
coals  of  fire  upon  his  head." 

Not  only  in  our  tempers  and  our  passions,  but  in 
our  speech  and  actions,  we  may  indulge  in  that  which 
often  tends  to  actual  murder,  and  sometimes  produces 
it;  although  such  a  consequence  may  not  even  be 
thought  of  at -the  time.  Bitter  and  provoking  words, 
threatening,  reviling,  deriding  and  sarcastic  speeches, 
or  writing;  striking,  wounding,  quarrelling,  cheating, 
imposition,  cruelty,  and  every  kind  of  oppression — all 
these,  and  many  things  of  a  similar  character,  not 
easily  specified,  have  been  seen  in  fact  to  issue  in  the 
shedding  of  blood;  and  are  therefore  to  be  avoided,  by 
those  who  would  keep  free  from  the  guilt  of  trans- 
gressing this  command. 

But  I  cannot  close  the  present  lecture,  without  dis- 
tinctly and  solemnly  reminding  you,  that  all  who 
either  by  their  example  or  their  words,  seduce  others 
into  sin,  are  chargeable  with  endeavouring  to  murder 
their  souls;  to  subject  them  to  all  the  horrors  of  the 
second  death — a  thousand  fold  more  dreadful  than 
the  death  of  the  body;  and  of  course  that  they  break 
the  sixth  commandment  in  the  most  fearful  manner. 
Dread,  therefore,  my  young  friends,  dread  exceeding- 
ly, the  guilt  of  leading  others  into  sin ;  and  for  your- 
selves, avoid  every  seducer,  as  you  would  avoid  the 
pestilence.  Fortify  your  minds  against  all  corrupt 
principles,  and  all  evil  examples.     Look  to  God  to 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  203 

guide  and  protect  you.  Flee  to  the  Saviour,  and  en- 
deavour to  lead  others  to  him;  for  till  your  " life  is  hid 
with  Christ  in  God,"  you  can  never  be  secure  against 
the  danger  of  final  perdition. 


LECTURE  LI. 


In  the  present  lecture  we  are  to  consider  the  import 
of  the  seventh  commandment,  which  is — "  Thou  shalt 
not  commit  adultery."  It  "  requireth  the  preserva- 
tion of  our  own  and  our  neighbour's  chastity,  in 
heart,  speech,  and  behaviour."  And  "  it  forbiddeth 
all  unchaste  thoughts,  words  and  actions."  Here,  as 
in  our  last  lecture,  we  shall  not  separate,  but  consider 
connectedly,  the  duty  enjoined  and  the  sin  prohibited. 

A  writer  of  eminence  has  said:  ^^Chastity  is  either 
abstinence  or  continence;  abstinence  in  virgins  or 
widows;  continence  of  married  persons;  chaste  mar- 
riages are  honourable  and  pleasing  to  God."*  Fisher 
defines  chastity  to  be,  "  an  abhorrence  of  all  unclean- 
ness,  whether  in  the  body,  or  in  the  mind  and  affec- 
tions." Let  us  consider  it  under  the  three  particulars, 
which  are  specified  in  both  the  answers  of  our  Cate- 
chism now  before  us. 

1.  "  Chastity  in  heart"  is  required;  and  "all  un- 
chaste thoughts  are  forbidden."  The  injunction  of  the 
wisest  of  men,  applicable  to  all  subjects,  is  especially 
applicable  to  this — "  Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence, 
for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life."  And  I  think  it 
worthy  of  remark,  that  our  Saviour,  in  declaring  what 
it  is  which  produces  moral  defilement,  refers  more 
largely  to  the  subject  before  us  than  to  any  other,  and 
traces  all  the  sins  which  he  mentions  to  the  heart: 
"  From  within,  out  of  the  heart  of  men,  proceed  evil 
thoughts,  adulteries,  fornications,  lasciviousness,  an 

*  Taylor. 


204  LECTURES     ON     THE 

evil  eye."  The  heart,  in  both  these  passages,  was 
manifestly  intended  to  include,  not  only  the  whole 
system  of  the  affections  and  passions,  but  also  the 
thoughts,  fancy  and  imagination;  for  these  are  the 
avenues  to  the  heart,  to  the  will  and  the  affections. 
We  are  indeed  so  constituted,  that  thoughts  may  be 
made  to  arise  in  our  minds,  by  causes  over  which  we 
have  no  control;  and  hence,  from  the  mere  occurrence 
of  thoughts  which  rush  or  intrude  upon  us  unsolicited, 
or  which  are  excited  by  external  objects  that  we  could 
not  avoid,  we  certainly  have  no  moral  responsibility. 
"Thoughts  are  only  criminal,  when  they  are  first 
chosen,  and  then  voluntarily  continued." 

"  Evil  into  the  mind  of  God  or  man 
May  come  and  go,  so  unapproved,  and  leave 
No  spot  or  stain  behind." — Milton.* 

But  if  we  do  not  use  all  suitable  care  and  caution, 
to   avoid   those   objects   which   will   excite   impure 
thoughts  or  imaginations,  we  are  not  free  from  guilt; 
and  hence,  in  its  proper  place,  I  propose  to  warn  you 
against  some  of  the  excitements  here  contemplated. 
At  present,  I  wish  to  impress  you  with  the  import- 
ance of  ejecting,  resolutely  and  as  speedily  as  possible, 
every  unchaste  thought  which,  from  whatever  cause, 
may  gain  admission  to  your  minds.     Here,  believe 
me,  my  young  friends,  will  be  found  your  only  com- 
plete safeguard  against  certain  guilt,  and  probable 
infamy.  The  maxim,  ^^obsta  principiis,^^ — withstand 
the  beginnings  of  evil — is,  in  reference  to  no  vice, 
more  emphatically  applicable  than  to  this:  And  re- 
member that  its  beginning  is  in  the  thoughts,  the 
fancy,  the  imagination.      If  you  do  not   preserve 
these  pure,  you  break  the  command  on  which  I  am 
addressing  you.     In  the  sight  of  the  heart  searching 
God  you  become  guilty  of  uncleanness.     Nor,  if  you 
cherish  impure  thoughts  in  your  mind,  and  dwell  on 
impure  images  in  your  fancy  and  imagination,  can 
you  have  any  security  that  your  feelings  and  passions 
will  not  eventually  become  so  excited  and  inflamed, 

*  Johnson's  Rambler,  No.  8, 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  205 

that  deedsof  infamy  shall  ensue,  and  blast  your  peace 
and  your  reputation  for  ever.  Therefore,  regard 
chastity  of  mind,  of  thought,  of  fancy,  of  imagination, 
as  a  sacred  duty;  and  as  the  only  citadel  of  your  safe- 
ty from  every  extreme  of  profligate  impurity. 

2.  The  command  before  us  requires  "  chastity  of 
speech,"  and  forbids  "  all  unchaste  words."  If  the 
duty  which  has  already  been  explained  be  performed ; 
that  which  is  here  enjoined  will  follow  of  course;  for 
"out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speak- 
eth."  We  certainly  are  in  little  danger  of  uttering, 
on  any  subject,  words  expressive  of  thoughts  and 
feelings  which  in  our  hearts  we  abhor.  Still,  it  is 
proper  to  show  what  is  required  and  forbidden  in  the 
duty  before  us,  so  far  as  speech  and  words  are  con- 
cerned. It  is  proper,  that  you  may  see  what  you 
should  disapprove  and  discountenance  in  others,  and 
what  you  should  avoid  for  yourselves — avoid,  as 
what  may  be  done,  and  too  often  is  done,  through  in- 
attention, ignorance,  or  a  defect  of  delicacy. 

There  is  perhaps  in  every  language,  and  certainly 
in  our  own,  what  I  know  not  how  to  express  more 
properly,  than  by  calling  it  a  vocabulary  of  obscenity ; 
a  number  of  words  that  are  not  admitted  into  diction- 
aries, and  which  are  never  uttered  by  any  person  of 
decency,  and  never  heard  but  from  the  most  vulgar 
and  polluted  lips.  But  as  by  such  lips  they  are  often 
spoken  in  the  hearing,  or  presented  in  legible  charac- 
ters to  the  view,  of  children  and  youth,  they  ought  to 
be  taught  by  their  parents  and  friends  most  deeply  to 
detest,  and  most  carefully  to  avoid  for  themselves;  and 
to  consider  all  who  use  them  as  also  detestable,  and 
as  such  to  be  shunned,  as  utterly  unworthy  of  their 
acquaintance  and  company.  This  I  considered  as  a 
matter  of  too  much  importance  to  be  passed  without 
a  distinct  notice. 

But  there  may  be  a  violation  of  the  duty  we  con- 
sider in  the  language  used,  when  not  a  single  term  is 
employed  which  is  in  itself  objectionable.  A  disre- 
gard of  the  command  we  now  consider,  may  be  even 
advocated  or  palliated,  in  a  discourse  in  which  not 


206  LECTURES     ON     THE 

an  obscene  word  is  used.  This,  if  I  am  well  informedj 
has  recently  been  done  in  this  very  city.  Impure  ideas 
too,  may  be  conveyed  by  words  and  expressions  not  in 
themselves  necessarily  offensive,  but  which  still  have 
a  known  and  offensive  double  meaning;  or  which,  by 
the  circumstances  in  which  they  are  uttered,  must  and 
will  have,  and  too  often  are  intended  to  have,  an  ap- 
plication most  offensive  to  every  modest  mind.  This 
offence  also  is  often  heightened,  by  the  impossibility 
which  exists  that  those  whose  feelings  are  wounded 
should  make  known  that  such  is  the  fact,  without  ag- 
gravating the  evil  which  they  would  avoid.  Those 
who  are  capable  of  the  mean  and  detestable  practice 
here  alluded  to,  ought  never  to  be  admitted  a  second 
time  into  the  presence  of  the  individual,  or  company, 
that  they  have  once  insulted,  at  least  till  known  refor- 
mation shall  have  given  assurance  that  the  insult  will 
not  be  repeated.  It  is  not  going  too  far  to  say,  that  we 
ought  to  be  on  our  guard,  that  we  may  not,  through 
mere  inattention,  or  real  ignorance,  use  terms  or  ex- 
pressions which,  in  certain  companies  and  circum- 
stances, will  give  pain  in  the  matter  of  delicacy. 

When  duty  calls  us  to  speak — as  at  this  moment  I 
am  called  to  speak,  on  a  topic  which  is  in  its  very  na- 
ture delicate,  we  should  use  a  manner  and  language 
reserved  and  guarded — in  every  degree  consistent 
with  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duty  incumbent. 
Physicians,  and  other  professional  individuals,  are 
often  called  to  this  duty;  and  if  they  understand  and 
practise  what  their  profession  requires,  they  will  find 
language  which  ought  not  to  be  offensive,  to  those 
whom  they  are  obliged  to  address.  There  is  indeed 
a  sickly  and  fastidious  delicacy,  which  cannot  always 
be  gratified,  and  which  indeed  may  be  indicative,  not 
of  the  greatest  mental  purity,  but  of  the  very  reverse. 

On  the  whole,  my  young  friends,  it  should  be  with 
you  a  matter  both  of  good  taste  and  of  Christian  duty, 
never  to  utter  an  expression  or  a  word,  which  will 
wound  the  ear  of  genuine  chastity  or  real  delicacy. 
Remember  the  apostolic  injunction:  "Let  no  cor- 
rupt communication  proceed  out  of  your  mouth,  but 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  207 

that  which  is  good,  to  the  use  of  edifying,  that  it  may 
minister  grace  unto  the  hearers." 

3.  The  commandment  before  us  requires  chastity 
of  behaviour  in  ourselves,  and  toward  our  neighbour; 
and  forbids  all  unchaste  actions  whatsover.  In  our 
Larger  Catechism  there  is  a  specification  of  the  duties 
enjoined,  and  of  the  sins  prohibited  by  this  precept, 
several  of  which  we  have  already  considered,  as  fall- 
ing under  the  preceding  particulars.  The  remainder 
is  as  follows.  "The  duties  required  in  the  seventh 
commandment  are — watchfulnessover  the  eyes  and  all 
the  senses;  temperance;  keeping  of  chaste  company; 
modesty  in  apparel;  marriage  by  those  who  have  not 
the  gift  of  continency ;  conjugal  love  and  cohabitation; 
diligent  labour  in  our  callings;  shunning  all  occasions 
of  uncleanness,  and  resisting  temptations  thereunto." 
And  "the  sins  forbidden,  beside  the  neglect  of  the 
duties  required  are,  adultery,  fornication,  rape,  incest, 
sodomy,  and  all  unnatural  lusts;  wanton  looks,  impu- 
dent or  light  behaviour,  immodest  apparel;  prohib- 
iting lawful  and  dispensing  with  lawful  marriages; 
allowing,  tolerating,  keeping  of  stews  and  resorting 
to  them;  entangling  vows  of  single  life,  undue  delay 
of  marriage;  having  more  wives  or  husbands  than 
one  at  the  same  time;  unjust  divorce  or  desertion; 
idleness,  gluttony,  drunkeness,  unchaste  company; 
lascivious  songs,  books,  pictures, dancing,  stage  plays, 
and  all  other  provocations  to,  or  acts  of  uncleanness, 
either  in  ourselves  or  others."  All  that  our  time  will 
allow,  and  all  indeed  that  propriety  will  permit,  in 
regard  to  this  enumeration  of  duties  and  sins,  is  to  re- 
commend that  it  be  attentively  read  and  carefully 
considered  by  you  all — in  connexion  with  the  texts 
of  Scripture  which,  in  the  Catechism  quoted,  you  will 
find  referred  to  at  the  bottom  of  the  page. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  we  are  required  to  do 
all  that  we  can,  to  preserve  the  chastity  of  others,  as 
well  as  of  ourselves;  and  it  is  a  manifest  aggravation 
of  many  of  the  transgressions  of  the  seventh  command- 
ment, that  they  necessarily  involve  the  guilt  of  two 
individuals,  each  of  whom  is  not  only  chargeable  with 


208  LECTURES     ON     THE 

personal  sin,  but  with  being  a  partaker  in  the  sin  of 
another.  Parents,  and  all  guardians  and  teachers  of 
youth,  have  a  solemn  duty  incumbent  on  them,  in 
endeavouring  to  imbue  the  minds  of  all  who  are  com- 
mitted to  their  charge,  with  the  deepest  abhorrence 
of  the  sin  of  uncleanness;  in  being  careful  not  to  ex- 
pose them  to  temptation  while  they  are  minors,  and 
in  warning  them  tenderly  and  faithfully  against  the 
dangers  to  which  they  will  be  exposed,  when  they 
come  to  act  for  themselves.  As  to  those  who  de- 
liberately endeavour  to  seduce  others  into  the  sins 
forbidden  in  this  commandment,  I  am  at  a  loss  for 
language  to  express  the  detestation  in  which  their 
character  and  practices  ought  to  be  held.  In  many 
cases,  I  hesitate  not  to  say,  that  their  guilt  is  that  of 
murderers  of  the  worst  description.  They  often 
literally  occasion  the  death  both  of  the  body  and  of 
the  soul — after  a  protracted  period  of  the  torment  of 
both,  in  the  present  state  of  existence.  A  seducer 
ought  to  be  shunned  by  every  decent  person,  as  a 
monster  who  has  done  dishonour  to  his  species:  And 
the  first  attempt,  or  perceptible  approach  to  seduc- 
tion, ought  to  be  regarded  and  treated  with  as  much 
resentment,  as  if  life  itself  had  been  assailed.  If  the 
first  approach  be  not  resisted,  and  the  seducing 
wretch  be  not  driven  for  ever  from  the  presence  of 
the  party  insulted,  guilt  immediately  ensues  to  that 
party,  and  the  foulest  stains  of  character  and  the  most 
lasting  anguish  of  mind,  will  probably  follow.  In- 
stant flight  is  courage  here.  It  is  the  course  which 
the  sacred  oracles  enjoin.     "  Flee  youthful  lusts." 

It  has  been  well  observed  by  Ridgely,  in  conclud- 
ing what  he  has  said  in  his  systems  on  this  command- 
ment, that  the  remedies  against  the  sins  and  vices 
which  the  precept  forbids,  are—"  the  exercising  a 
constant  watchfulness  against  all  temptations  there- 
unto; avoiding  all  conversation  with  those  men  or 
books  which  tend  to  corrupt  the  mind,  and  fill  it  with 
levity,  under  a  pretence  of  improving  it:  But  more 
especially,  a  retaining  a  constant  sense  of  God's  all- 
seeing  eye,  his  infinite  purity  and  vindictive  justice. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  209 

which  will  induce  us  to  say,  as  Joseph  did  in  the  like 
case,  '  How  can  I  do  this  great  wickedness  and  sin 
against  God.'"  I  shall  close  this  lecture,  with  an 
extract  from  a  discourse  which  I  delivered  some  years 
since,  to  a  number  of  liberally  educated  youth,  on 
the  character  of  a  man  of  false  honour,  as  exemplified 
in  the  Herod  who  beheaded  John  the  Baptist.  It  is 
as  follows: — 

"Against  the  indulgence  of  lewd  propensities,  as 
well  as  of  intemperance,  I  am  called  by  our  text  and 
subject  to  warn  you  distinctly.  If  Herod  had  been 
chaste,  there  is  no  probability  that  he  would  ever 
have  murdered  John.  It  was  his  adulterous  connex- 
ion with  Herodias,  which  originated  the  faithful  re- 
proof of  the  Baptist,  so  offensive  to  himself,  and  to 
the  harlot  whom  he  called  his  wife.  It  was  her 
blood-thirsty  malignity,  aided  by  that  art  and  subtility 
which  licentious  women  usually  possess,  that  ensnar- 
ed him  effectually,  and  impelled  him  to  the  deed 
which  has  blasted  him  with  eternal  infamy.  But 
Herod  is  by  no  means  a  solitary  instance  of  these 
effects  of  libidinous  indulgence.  History,  both  sacred 
and  profane,  and  even  your  own  observation,  may 
furnish  you  with  many  examples,  of  at  least  similar 
effects,  proceeding  from  the  same  cause.  Perhaps, 
indeed,  there  is  no  one  vice  which,  in  its  extreme, 
more  debases  and  pollutes  the  mind,  more  brutalizes 
the  whole  man,  leads  him  to  more  shameless,  detes- 
table and  atrocious  acts,  and  which  oftener  gives  him 
a  diseased  body,  as  well  as  a  degraded  soul,  than  the 
very  vice  which  we  now  contemplate.  Nor  is  there 
any  vice  to  which  a  man  is  more  in  danger  of  becom- 
ing enslaved,  if  he  indulges  in  it  at  all.  Yet  this  is  a 
vice,  my  young  friends,  to  which  persons  at  your  age 
are  especially  exposed,  and  against  which  they  need 
to  be  peculiarly  guarded.  Difficult  therefore  as  the 
subject  is  of  being  properly  and  profitably  discussed 
in  public,  I  could  not  forbear  to  state  to  you  what 
you  have  heard.  For  the  rest,  and  for  the  best  des- 
cription that  was  ever  given  of  the  arts  and  the  dan- 


210  LECTURES     ON    THE 

gers  of  a  lascivious  woman,  I  refer  you  to  the  seventh 
chapter  of  the  book  of  Proverbs;  and  I  earnestly  ex- 
hort you  to  read  it  seriously,  and  to  ponder  it  deeply, 
in  your  closets.  In  the  mean  time,  I  shall  repeat  in 
your  hearing  the  solemn  and  impressive  admonition 
with  which  that  chapter  closes;  "  Hearken  unto  me 
now,  therefore,  0  ye  children,  and  attend  to  the  words 
of  my  mouth :  Let  not  thine  heart  decline  to  her  ways, 
go  not  astray  in  her  paths:  For  she  hath  cast  down 
many  wounded;  yea  many  strong  men  have  been 
slain  by  her.  Her  house  is  the  way  to  hell,  going 
down  to  the  chambers  of  death." 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  211 


LECTURE  LIL 


We  are  now  to  consider  the  eighth  commandment, 
which  is — "Thou  shalt  not  steal."  The  require* 
ments  and  prohibitions  of  this  commandment  may 
best  be  treated  separately:  "It  requireth  the  lawful 
procuring  and  furthering  the  wealth  and  outward 
estate  of  ourselves  and  others." 

Here  we  are  to  consider,  I.  What  we  are  to  do,  to 
promote  our  own  wealth  and  outward  estate,  and, 
II.  The  wealth  and  outward  estate  of  others. 

I.  In  promoting  our  own  wealth  and  outward  es* 
tate,  it  is  of  importance  to  consider,  first  of  all,  that 
it  is  a  duty  to  do  so.  This,  too  often,  is  not  sufficient* 
ly  considered.  There  are  a  few,  indeed,  who  are 
born  to  such  an  ample  inheritance,  that  they  ought 
not  to  endeavour  to  increase  their  property,  unless  it 
be  with  an  express  and  fixed  purpose  to  devote  the 
whole  increase  to  charitable  and  pious  uses.  The 
great  duty  of  those  who  inherit  independent  fortunes 
is,  to  husband  and  employ  them  for  the  purposes  of 
benevolence;  of  which  I  am  to  speak  hereafter.  But 
the  answer  before  us  implies,  that  it  is  a  duty  incum- 
bent on  all,  to  take  a  suitable  care  for  their  outward 
provision;  and  of  the  greater  part  to  endeavour  to  in- 
crease their  worldly  property.  And  this  corresponds 
with  an  explicit  precept  of  inspiration.  "  Provide 
things  honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men."  It  is  indeed 
true,  that  the  excess  of  a  worldly  spirit  is  more  com- 
mon than  the  want  of  a  suitable  care.  Yet  the  latter 
is  really  a  sin,  as  well  as  the  former;  and  it  is  one  of 
which  youth  especially  ought  to  be  admonished.  To 
be  inactive,  or  careless,  with  respect  to  our  future 
worldly  circumstances,  is  not  a  matter  that  is  merely 
optional,  and  which  therefore  we  may  regard  or  ne- 
glect, as  inchnation  dictates;  much  less  is  it  a  matter 


212  LECTURES     ON    THE 

of  indifference  to  spend  wantonly,  what  ought  to  be 
saved  to  ensure  and  increase  our  future  comfort  and 
usefuhiess  in  hfe.  There  is  an  important  religious 
duty  to  be  regarded  in  this  concern,  which  all  who 
would  keep  a  conscience  void  of  offence  must  remem- 
ber and  perform.  We  are  bound  "  to  glorify  God  in 
our  bodies  and  spirits  which  are  his;"  and  "whether 
we  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  we  do,  to  do  all  to 
the  glory  of  God."  Now,  that  this  duty  may  be  duly 
regarded  and  performed,  it  is  important — 

1.  That  we  choose  properly  our  general  course, 
profession,  or  calling  in  life.  "  No  man  liveth  to  him- 
self." In  shaping  our  course  through  life,  we  have 
doubtless  a  right  to  consult,  reasonably,  our  own 
happiness  and  inclination.  But  those  who  make  self- 
gratification,  or  personal  ease,  indulgence  and  plea- 
sure, the  sole  or  chief  object  of  regard,  in  planning 
for  the  future,  or  in  spending  their  time  as  it  passes, 
err  egregiously,  both  as  to  their  happiness  and  their 
duty.  To  ''  do  good  and  to  communicate,"  is  one  of 
our  sweetest  enjoyments,  as  well  as  one  of  our  most 
sacred  obligations;  and  he  who  lives  only  for  himself, 
loses  the  one  and  violates  the  other.  He  loses  all  the 
delight — one  of  the  highest,  as  well  as  purest,  that 
man  can  ever  know — which  springs  from  indulging 
and  cherishing  the  social  and  benevolent  affections. 
The  man  who  looks  not  beyond  himself,  soon  finds 
himself  an  isolated  wretch;  his  mind  preys  upon  it- 
self; his  soul  stagnates  for  want  of  employment;  or 
is  corroded  by  avarice;  or  he  grows  brutalized  by  his 
sensuality,  and  generally  becomes  as  contemptible  as 
he  is  wretched;  and  worst  of  all,  he  prepares  for  him- 
self an  awful  account  to  his  Maker,  for  a  wasted  ex- 
istence, and  an  abuse  of  the  bounties  of  providence. 

I  know  not  how  many  of  you,  my  young  friends, 
may  have  expectations,  or  possessions,  virhich  may 
exempt  you  from  the  necessity  of  planning  and  la- 
bouring for  a  subsistence,  for  yourselves  or  for  a 
family.  But  whatever  may  be  the  wealth  that  you 
inherit,  or  may  ever  acquire,  let  me  warn  you  never 
to  be  either  idle  or  selfish.     If  you  become  so,  be  as- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  213 

sured  you  will  be  miserable,  both  in  this  world  and 
the  world  to  come.  Plan  for  yourselves  some  law- 
ful employment,  that  will  keep  your  minds  and  bo- 
dies constantly  occupied — occupied,  not  that  you 
may  add  to  hoarded  wealth,  but  that  you  may  re- 
lieve the  necessitous,  and  promote  extensively  plans 
and  enterprises  of  benevolence,  virtue,  and  piety. 
We  live  in  a  day  in  which  such  plans  and  enterprises 
are  numerous,  and  their  call  for  patronage  is  reason- 
able, loud,  and  imperious.  Select  such  as  you  verily 
believe  are  best  calculated  to  promote  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  good  of  your  fellow  men;  and  not  only 
give  liberally  of  your  wealth  to  their  support,  but 
give  your  talents,  your  time  and  your  influence,  lo 
direct  and  render  them  eff'ective.  Thus  you  will  pro- 
vide most  effectually  for  your  present  personal  hap- 
piness; and  if  what  you  do  be  done  from  real  love  to 
God  and  man,  you  will  lay  up  for  yourselves  "  trea- 
sures in  heaven — an  inheritance  incorruptible,  and 
undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away." 

But  many  of  those  whom  I  address  have  yet  a 
profession  or  calling  to  select,  in  the  prosecution  of 
which  they  are  to  endeavour  to  procure  and  further 
their  wealth  and  outward  estate,  so  as  to  provide  for 
their  comfort  and  usefulness  in  future  life.  In  choos- 
ing a  profession,  trade,  or  calling,  youth  ought  to  pay 
a  suitable  regard  to  the  wishes  and  advice  of  their 
parents  or  guardians;  and  parents  and  guardians 
should  show  a  like  regard  to  the  inclinations  and 
choice  of  youth;  and  both  should  carefully  and  im- 
partially consider  the  fitness,  or  qualifications  of  the 
party  concerned,  for  the  vocation,  or  business,  which 
is  in  contemplation  for  him.  Earnest  prayer  to  God 
for  direction  should  be  used  on  this  occasion;  because 
the  whole  complexion  of  the  individual's  future  con- 
dition in  the  world,  and  perhaps  his  destiny  for  eter- 
nity, may  depend  on  the  determination  made.  That 
business  should  be  usually  chosen  which  has  the 
fewest  temptations  attending  it,  which  will  not  be  in- 
cumbered with  unlawful  or   unnecessary  oaths;  or 


214  LECTURES      ON     THE 

which,  on  any  account,  cannot  be  successfully  prose- 
cuted without  much  danger  of  injuring  others,  or 
committing  sin  in  its  prosecution.  While  children 
are  under  age,  parents  should  not  permit  them,  what- 
ever may  be  their  wishes,  to  engage  in  any  business 
or  pursuit  that  is  either  clearly  unlawful  in  itself,  or 
peculiarly  hazardous  to  their  morals  or  their  health. 

2.  Industry — habitual  industry — is  a  duty  incum- 
bent on  all,  in  the  lawful  procuring  of  worldly  pro- 
perty. This  has  already  been  intimated;  but  it  de- 
serves a  distinct  notice  and  inculcation.  Diligence  in 
business  is  expressly  enjoined  by  the  apostle  Paul,  as 
a  Christian  duty;  and  he  lays  it  down  as  a  law  of  Chris- 
tian morals,  that  "if  any  would  not  work,  neither 
should  he  eat;"  and  adds — "  Now,  them  that  are  such, 
we  command  and  exhort  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that 
with  quietness  they  work,  and  eat  their  own  bread." 
The  influence  of  industry  on  success  in  any  business, 
is  greater  than  every  thing  beside.  He  who  exerts 
himself  only  occasionally,  or  as  the  homely  but  ex- 
pressive phrase  is,  by  fits  and  starts,  seldom  acquires 
much,  however  vigorous  may  be  his  efforts  while 
they  last;  but  he  who  labours  steadily  and  perse- 
veringly,  with  an  activity  always  roused,  but  never 
overtasked,  seldom  fails  to  accumulate  property — it 
may  be  by  slow  advances  at  first,  yet  often  to  a  very 
large  amount  in  the  end.  Look  around  you  and  see 
who  are  the  men  of  wealth.  In  almost  every  instance 
they  are  those  who  began  the  world  with  little — often 
with  nothing  but  their  hands  and  their  industry.  The 
same  way  to  wealth  is  equally  open  to  all.  No  other 
country  on  earth  afl"ords  such  a  wide,  varied,  and 
fruitful  field  for  industrious  enterprise,  as  our  own. 
No  individual,  whom  God  favours  with  health  and 
the  use  of  his  faculties,  and  who  has  none  to  provide 
for  but  himself,  need  with  us  be  long  subject  to  real 
want;  and  nearly  all,  with  the  ordinary  blessing  of 
Providence,  may  rise  at  length,  if  not  to  afliuence,  yet 
to  a  state  of  worldly  competence  and  comfort — espe- 
cially if  to  industry  they  add — 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  2l5 

3.  Frugality  and  economy.  Without  these,  indeed, 
the  gains  of  industry  may  be,  and  sometimes  ac- 
tually are,  scattered  almost  as  soon  as  acquired. 
Those  who  are  poor  will  never  rise  to  wealth,  and 
those  of  small  property  will  not  be  likely  to  increase 
it,  without  frugality  in  expenditure — forbearing  to 
purchase  what  they,  for  the  present,  ought  not  to 
possess;  and  even  abstaining  from  those  articles  of 
food,  drink,  and  clothing,  which  are  the  most  cosily, 
and  therefore  seldom  necessary  to  health,  or  to  real 
respectability  and  enjoyment.  I  once  lived  near  a 
family,  the  heads  of  which  were  among  the  most  ac- 
tive and  laborious  individuals  I  have  ever  known,  and 
in  the  prosecution  of  a  mechanical  business,  received 
not  a  little  ready  money:  but  they  and  their  children 
lived  more  luxuriously  than  even  their  wealthy  neigh- 
bours; the  best  of  the  market  was  always  on  their 
table.  When  asked  why  they  pursued  this  course, 
the  reply  was  made  by  another  question,  "  Who 
ought  to  live  well,  but  they  that  work  hard  for  it?" 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that  this  family,  that 
thus  always  lived  vv^ell,  always  likewise  lived  poor; 
that  is,  they  accumulated  nothing,  and  the  education 
of  the  children  was  grossly  neglected. 

The  increase  of  property  uiiquestionably  depends 
more  on  saving  and  economy,  or  prudent  manage- 
ment, than  on  rapid  gains.  "  How  happens  it,  said 
one  neighbour  to  another,  that  you  are  rich  and  lam 
poor,  when  we  began  the  world  alike,  and  I  have  la- 
boured as  faithfully  as  you."  The  answer  was — 
"  You  have  earned  as  much  money  as  I;  but  here  is 
the  difference,  you  have  spent  your  earnings,  and  I 
have  saved  mine."  Think  not,  my  young  friends, 
that  I  am  recommending  a  niggardly,  parsimonious, 
or  avaricious  spirit  and  system  of  conduct.  Far  from 
it.  All  I  aim  at  is  to  impress  you  with  the  import- 
ance of  that  prudence  and  self-denial,  by  which  you 
may  not  only  provide  for  a  time  of  sickness,  and  for 
your  old  age,  and  for  leaving  something  to  your  de- 
scendants, but  that  you  may  also  be  able  to  be  cha- 
ritable and  liberal.     "  Be  frugal,  that  you  may  be 


216  LECTURES      ON     THE 

generous,  for   no  man  can  give   out   of  an  empty 
purse."* 

4.  We  ought  constantly  to  implore  the  direction  of 
God  in  the  management  of  our  worldly  affairs,  and 
his  blessing  on  the  labour  of  our  hands — "  In  all  thy 
ways  acknowledge  him,  and  he  shall  direct  thy  paths. 
The  blessing  of  the  Lord,  it  maketh  rich,  and  he  add- 
eth  no  sorrow  with  it."  With  the  excellent  com- 
mentary and  practical  observations  of  Scott,  on  the 
verse  of  sacred  Scripture  last  recited,  I  will  close  what 
I  have  to  offer  on  this  part  of  our  subject — "  In  a 
chapter  peculiarly  recommending  industry,  the  wise 
man,  or  rather  the  Spirit  of  God  by  him,  has  given 
a  most  important  admonition  on  this  verse.  'The 
heathens  were  prone  to  imagine  all  things  requisite 
to  happiness  to  be  placed  in  themselves.  But  the 
Scripture  every  where  inculcates,  that  it  is  God  who 
giveth  wisdom  to  the  wise,  and  victory  to  the  valiant, 
and  riches  to  the  diligent,  and  good  success  to  the 
prudent  and  patient. 't  In  fact,  a  large  majority  of 
nominal  Christians,  especially  the  active,  sagacious, 
and  managing  in  worldly  business,  are  heathens, 
at  least  practically,  in  this  respect.  Perhaps  they 
acquire  their  wealth  by  using  many  sinister  meth- 
ods; and  with  it  they  ensure  vanity  and  vexation. 
But  when  riches  are  given  by  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  the  honest  industry  of  one  who  depends  on 
him,  and  uses  them  to  his  glory;  they  are  possessed 
without  perplexing  care,  or  a  guilty  conscience,  or  a 
dread  of  consequences.  The  hope  of  the  righteous 
is  gladness.  If  the  Lord  see  good  he  can  give  them 
wealth,  and  exempt  them  from  the  sorrow  and  vexa- 
tion attending  ungodly  prosperity.  He  can  prolong 
their  days,  while  vice  shortens  the  lives  of  wretched 
multitudes.  He  will  make  their  dihgence  acceptable 
and  useful,  while  disgrace  attaches  to  the  slothful. 
He  will  give  them  strength  and  courage  in  his  ways; 
and  they  shall  not  be  moved  for  ever,  being  built  on 
an  immoveable  foundation,     '  This  is  the  heritage  of 

*  Witherspoon.  t  Bp.  Patrick. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  217 

the  servants  of  the  Lord;  and  their  righteousness  is 
of  me,  saith  the  Lord.'" 

II.  There  is  a  duty  to  be  performed,  in  promoting 
the  wealth  and  outward  estate  of  others.  The  great 
law  of  Christian  benevolence,  "  thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself,"  or,  "  whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them,"  is 
applicable  here,  as  in  other  cases, 

1.  In  all  matters  of  contract  or  traffic,  we  are  to 
act  conscientiously  and  fairly;  to  do  as  we  would  be 
done  by.  In  making  a  contract  we  are  not  to  conceal 
any  thing  which,  if  known  to  the  other  party,  would 
lead  him  to  avoid  or  refuse  the  bargain;  or  to  propose 
terms  which  he  is  led  to  accept,  merely  because  he  is 
ignorant  of  something  known  to  us,  but  hidden  from 
him.  Neither  is  it  lawful  to  take  advantage  of  the 
pressing  necessities  of  others,  for  an  immediate  supply 
of  some  want  which,  if  they  could  wait  a  little,  or 
apply  elsewhere,  they  might  obtain  for  much  less 
than  we  demand.  If  a  general  necessity  or  demand 
in  a  community  has  raised  the  value  of  any  article 
of  trade  or  commerce,  it  is  not  unfair  to  take  the  price 
that  is  current;  for  any  thing  may  be  justly  reckoned 
to  be  worth  as  much  as  the  price  at  which  it  is  cur- 
rently sold.  But  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  ignorance, 
or  the  urgent  wants  of  our  neighbour,  to  take  from 
him  any  part  of  his  property,  however  small,  which 
he  might  and  would  save,  if  better  informed,  or  less 
pressed  for  immediate  relief,  is  certainly  inconsistent 
with  Clu-istian  integrity,  to  say  nothing  of  benevo- 
lence or  kindness. 

The  concealing  of  the  known  defects  of  an  article 
of  merchandise  or  trade,  or  the  extolling  of  the  value 
of  an  article  beyond  the  truth,  or  the  setting  of  an  un- 
reasonable price  with  a  view  to  obtain  it  if  possible, 
and  to  fall  from  it  if  necessary,  these,  and  all  similar 
practices,  however  common,  must  be  avoided  by  those 
who  would  keep  a  conscience  void  of  otfence.  In 
like  manner,  it  is  to  be  reckoned  unfair,  to  decry  what 
is  otfered  us  by  another,  with  a  view  to  induce  him 
to  abate  his  demand.     This  fraudulent   practice  is 

VOL.  II.  — 15 


218  LECTURES     ON     THE 

Strikingly  described  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs — "  It  is 
naught,  saith  the  buyer,  but  when  he  is  gone  his  way, 
then  he  boasteth." 

Any  deception  in  the  use  of  weights  and  measures, 
is  manifestly  iniquitous;  and  nothing  is  more  point- 
edly reprobated  in  the  scriptures  of  truth.  In  the 
law  of  Moses  it  is  said,  "  Thou  shalt  have  a  perfect 
and  just  weight,  a  perfect  and  just  measure  shalt  thou 
have;  that  thy  days  may  be  lengthened,  in  the  land 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  ihee."  And  Solomon 
says, ''A  false  balance  is  abomination  to  the  Lord; 
but  a  just  weight  is  his  delight."  It  is  scarcely  ne- 
cessary to  add,  that  in  the  delivery  of  articles  pur- 
chased, to  diminish  any  thing  in  weight  or  measure, 
or  to  transfer  worse  goods  than  were  actually  bought, 
is  cheating  in  its  worst  and  most  odious  form. 

2,  Any  individual  who  is  conscious  of  having  de- 
frauded another,  can  never  perform  the  duty  we  are 
now  considering,  without  making  restitution,  if  it  be 
at  all  possible  for  him  to  do  it.  On  this  subject,  the 
law  given  by  Moses  was  express  and  particular;  as  you 
may  see  by  consulting  Exod.  xxii.  4.  Lev.  vi.  4 — 28. 
1  Sam.  xii.  3.  And  in  the  New  Testament,  we  find 
that  the  publican  Zaccheus  gives  it  as  the  proof  of  the 
sincerity  of  his  repentance,  that  he  made  restitution — 
"  Behold  Lord — said  he  to  the  Saviour — the  half  of 
my  goods  I  give  to  the  poor;  and  if  I  have  taken  any 
thing  from  any  man  by  false  accusation,  I  restore  him 
four  fold."  Here  is  the  example  which  all  who  have 
dealt  fraudulently — from  him  who  has  committed 
actual  theft,  to  him  who  has  overreached  another  in 
a  bargain — ought  to  set  before  themselves  for  imita- 
tion. Not  indeed  as  to  the  very  letter.  It  may  not 
be  incumbent  in  every  case,  scarcely  perhaps  in  any 
case,  to  restore  four  fold;  but  in  every  case  such  resti- 
tution must  be  made  as  that  the  party  defrauded  shall 
sustain  no  eventual  loss,  in  consequence  of  what  was 
taken  from  him  unlawfully.  If  the  party  defrauded 
be  dead,  then  his  heirs,  or  relatives,  or  descendants, 
if  they  can  be  found,  should  receive  the  property  to 
be  restored.     If  none  of  these  can  be  discovered,  the 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  219 

whole  amount  of  the  sum  purlohied  should  be  given 
to  the  poor,  or  to  benevolent  and  pious  uses.  It  must, 
in  all  cases,  be  shaken  from  the  hands  of  the  defrauder, 
before  he  can  be  entitled  to  consider  himself  as  a  real 
penitent,  and  as  such  forgiven  of  his  God.  Without 
reformation  there  can  be  no  true  repentance. 

In  cases  of  bankruptcy,  where  a  legal  discharge 
has  been  obtained,  it  is  usually  considered  as  an  act 
of  generosity,  rather  than  of  justice,  if  the  bankrupt, 
when  again  possessed  of  property,  pays  with  interest 
the  losses  whicli  his  creditors  have  sustained  by  his 
failure.  In  some  instances  this  maybe  a  strictly  just 
estimate.  But  in  many  others,  even  where  the  bank- 
ruptcy has  been  in  no  degree  fraudulent,  the  losses 
sustained  may  have  been  occasioned  by  such  want 
of  care,  prudence,  management,  vigilance  or  foresight, 
that  a  truly  conscientious  person  will  feel  that  justice 
and  equity  require  that,  when  able,  he  should  indem- 
nify his  creditors,  if  not  fully,  at  least  in  part. 

3.  Affording  relief  to  the  necessities  of  the  poor,  is 
an  incumbent  duty,  in  promoting  the  wealth  and  out- 
ward estate  of  others.  There  are  many  who  seem 
to  consider  it  as  a  matter  perfectly  optional — a  matter 
of  mere  inclination,  in  which  no  moral  obligation  is 
involved — to  supply  the  wants  of  the  poor  and  needy. 
Tills  is  altogether  erroneous.  The  relief  of  the  neces- 
sitous belongs  indeed  to  what  moralists  denominate 
imperfect  rights;  that  is,  relief  cannot  be  demanded, 
by  those  who  are  in  want.  Yet  in  view  of  our  respon- 
sibility to  God,  there  is  no  duty  more  obligatory  and 
sacred;  and  as  it  cannot  be  enforced  by  human  au- 
thority, we  are  taught  in  the  sacred  Scriptures  that  it 
is  one  of  which  the  Most  High  takes  a  special  cogni- 
zance. He  declares  that  he  will  hear  the  cry,  and  be 
the  retributor  of  the  poor  and  needy,  when  they  are 
wronged  or  injured,  or  unfeelingly  left  to  perish,  or 
to  suffer  want:  And  on  the  other  hand,  he  declares 
that  "  he  that  hath  pity  on  the  poor  lendeth  to  the 
Lord;  and  that  which  he  hath  given  will  he  pay  him 
again."  In  a  word,  I  know  of  no  one  duty  of  the 
second  table  of  the  law,  which  is  more  frequently  en- 


220  LECTURES      ON     THE 

joined  and  urged,  and  in  regard  to  which  more  pow- 
erful motives  to  its  performance  are  set  before  us, 
both  in  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  than  giving 
to  the  poor. 

This  duty  is  doubtless  peculiarly  incumbent  on  the 
rich.  They  ought  to  remember,  that  all  which  they 
possess  has  been  given  them  of  God ;  that  he  has  made 
them  his  stewards,  in  part  for  this  very  purpose;  and 
that  he  will,  in  the  judgment  of  the  great  day,  demand 
of  them  an  account  of  their  stewardship,  in  this  par- 
ticular. Our  Saviour  takes  special  notice  of  the  per- 
formance, or  the  neglect  of  this  duty,  in  his  statement 
of  the  retribution  of  the  final  judgment,  in  the  25tli 
chapter  of  Matthew:  And  the  apostle  Paul  directs 
Timothy — "  Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this  world, 
that  they  be  not  high  minded,  nor  trust  in  uncertain 
riches,  but  in  the  living  God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all 
things  to  enjoy;  that  they  do  good,  that  they  be  rich 
in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to  commu- 
nicate; laying  up  in  store  for  themselves  a  good  foun- 
dation against  the  time  to  come,  that  they  may  lay 
hold  on  eternal  life!"  For  all  the  wealth  of  the  world, 
my  young  friends,  you  ought  not  to  be  willing  to  take 
the  responsibility  of  that  rich  man,  who  has  not  been 
kind  and  liberal  to  the  poor.  And  I  cannot  here  for- 
bear the  remark,  that  there  are  few  rich  men,  even 
among  those  who  are  highly  praised  for  their  munifi- 
cence, who  give  in  proportion  to  their  wealth.  Where 
is  the  man  of  wealth,  who  gives  to  such  a  degree,  as 
to  render  it  necessary  for  him  to  forego  a  single  grati- 
fication of  himself  or  his  family?  How  seldom  is  one 
found  who  surrenders  even  a  single  luxury,  that  he 
may  give  to  the  poor,  or  to  benevolent  and  pious 
uses? 

But  although  the  rich  are  to  bestow  out  of  their 
abundance,  they  are  not  the  only  individuals  on  whom 
this  duty  is  incumbent.  We  are  all  to  give,  according 
as  God  has  prospered  us.  "Even  the  poor  ought  to 
give  a  small  testimony  of  their  gratitude  to  God,  by 
sparing  a  little,  if  they  can,  out  of  what  they  get  in  the 
world,  for  those   who   are  poorer  than  themselves; 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  22 1 

which  if  it  be  but  a  few  mites,  it  may  be  an  accepta- 
ble sacrifice  to  God;  and  if  persons  have  nothing  be- 
fore hand  in  the  world,  they  ought  to  work  for  this 
end,  as  well  as  to  maintain  themselves  and  families."* 
It  is  not  practicable  to  lay  down  any  general  rule, 
as  to  the  proportion  of  our  property  that  we  ought  to 
assign  to  charitable  purposes.  Those  who  have  fami- 
lies, are  certainly  not  under  obligation  to  give  away 
I  as  much  as  those  who  have  none.  Yet  it  would  often 
!  have  been  well  for  the  children  of  the  opulent — more 
\  conducive  to  their  real  happiness,  as  well  as  their 

■  usefulness  and  respectability — if  their  parents,  in  place 
:of  leaving  them  wealth  that  has  rendered  them  i?ide- 
' pendent,  as  it  is  called,  had  left  them  only  enough  to 
■facilitate  their  own  exertions  to  support  themselves; 
•and  had   given  the  whole  of  the  remainder  to  feed 

■  the  poor,  and  to  promote  knowledge,  virtue,  and  piety. 
The  practice  of  giving  but  a  little  while  a  man  lives, 
with  the  intention  of  giving  much  by  bequest  after 
death,  is  foolish  in  the  extreme.  It  often  results  in 
really  giving  nothing — nothing  to  the  purposes  in- 
tended to  be  subserved.  The  whole  is  wasted,  or 
misapplied,  or  perverted  by  the  unfaithfulness,  or 
carelessness  of  (hose  entrusted  with  its  application;  or 
lost  by  some  unforeseen  or  unavoidable  occurrence. 
Far  better  it  is  for  a  man  to  be  his  own  executor,  in 
every  charity  that  he  proposes  to  favour,  and  to  leave 
little  or  nothing  to  be  distributed  by  others,  after  his 
decease.  Those,  indeed,  who  have  only  enough  to 
sustain  themselves  comfortably  while  they  live,  can- 
not act  on  this  rule;  and  yet  they  may,  by  will,  give 
to  charitable  designs  their  whole  property:  but  in  all 
other  cases,  a  man  would  better  give  with  his  own 
hands  and  eyes,  than  leave  it  to  be  done  by  those  who 
are  to  come  after  him.  On  the  whole,  every  Chris- 
tian must  determine  for  himself,  and  in  view  of  the 
account  which  he  is  to  render  to  God,  what  is  the  pro- 
per proportion  of  his  worldly  substance,  to  be  appro- 
priated to  charitable  uses.  But  every  one  would  do 
well  to  give  on  system,  and  not  by  caprice  or  inclina- 

*  Ridgley. 


222  LECTURES    ON     THE 

tion — some  may  give  a  tenth,  others  a  third,  and 
others  the  half,  or  even  a  larger  part  of  iheir  income. 
When  a  system  is  adopted,  we  are  guarded  against 
negligence  on  the  one  hand,  and  profusion  on  the 
other — against  refusing  to  give  when,  and  as  much  as 
we  ought,  and  against  giving  beyond  our  ability,  so 
as  to  cause  an  embarrassment  that  we  ought  to  avoid. 

It  is  of  no  small  importance  to  make  a  right  selec- 
tion of  the  objects  of  our  benevolence;  otherwise  we 
may  do  more  harm  than  good,  by  all  that  we  bestow. 
We  should  be  careful  not  to  minister  to  vice,  nor  to 
encourage  sloth  or  indolence,  but  see  that  our  char- 
ities really  answer  some  valuable  end — that  they 
relieve  the  truly  necessitous,  help  the  helpless,  com- 
fort the  widow,  aid  the  orphan,  instruct  the  ignorant, 
reclaim  the  vicious,  succour  suffering  piety,  promote 
education,  extend  the  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer,  and 
benefit  eternally  the  souls  of  our  brethren  of  mankind. 
To  any,  or  to  all  of  these  objects,  "let  every  man,  ac- 
cording as  he  purposeth  in  his  heart,  give;  not  grudg- 
ingly, or  of  necessity,  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful 
giver." 

The  duty  we  have  been  considering  is  well  sum- 
med up,  by  the  author  already  quoted,  in  the  follow- 
ing words:  "Works  of  charity  are  to  be  performed 
prudently,  as  our  circumstances  will  permit,  and  the 
necessity  of  the  object  requires;  also  seasonably,  not 
putting  this  duty  off  till  another  time,  when  the  ne- 
cessities of  those  whom  we  are  bound  to  relieve  call 
for  present  assistance.  'Tis  also  to  be  done  secretly, 
as  not  desiring  to  be  seen  of  men,  or  commended  by 
them  for  it,  and  cheerfully;  also,  with  tenderness  and 
compassion  to  those  whose  necessities  call  for  relief, 
as  considering  how  soon  God  can  reduce  us  to  the 
same  extremity  which  they  are  exposed  to,  who  are 
the  objects  of  our  charity.  It  ought  to  be  done  like- 
wise with  thankfulness  to  God,  that  he  has  made  us 
givers  rather  than  receivers;  and  as  a  testimony  of  our 
love  to  Christ,  especially  when  we  contribute  to  the 
necessities  of  his  members." 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  223 


LECTURE  LIII. 


The  prohibitions  of  the  eighth  commandment,  are 
now  to  be  considered.  "  The  eighth  commandment 
forbiddeth,  whatsoever  doth  or  may  unjustly  hinder 
our  own,  or  our  neighbour's  weaUh  or  outward  es- 
tate." 

The  chief  hindrances  to  our  own  wealth  and  out- 
ward estate  have  already  been  taken  into  view,  in 
considering  the  duties  enjoined  in  this  commandment. 
Yet  I  will  give  a  short  summary  statement  of  them, 
from  an  author  to  whom  I  have  frequently  referred. 
Fisher  in  his  catechism  says — "  We  may  be  said  to 
steal  from  ourselves  by  idleness,  niggardliness  and 
prodigality — By  idleness,  when  we  live  without  a 
lawful  calhng,  or  neglect  it,  if  we  have  any — by  7iig- 
gardliness,  when  a  person  defrauds  himself  of  the 
due  use  and  comfort  of  that  estate  which  God  hath 
given  him — hy  prodigality,  when  persons  are  lavish 
and  profuse,  in  spending  above  their  income."  The 
detestable  vice  of  gambling,  ought  certainly  to  be  no- 
ticed here-,  for  it  is  not  only  iniquitous  in  itself,  but 
very  often  reduces  both  the  gambler  and  his  family, 
from  comfort  or  affluence,  to  wretchedness  and  want. 

We  have  also  somewhat  anticipated,  in  the  last 
lecture,  the  notice  of  the  injury  that  may  be  done  to 
our  neighbour,  in  his  wealth  or  outward  estate.  But 
we  shall  now  bring  more  distinctly  into  view  the  va- 
rious kinds  of  fraud,  by  which  others  may  be  de- 
prived of  their  property,  or  lawful  possessions.  There 
is,  however,  but  little  need  of  reasoning  or  illustration, 
in  regard  to  the  violations  of  this  command;  because, 
however  frequently  such  violations  maybe  practised, 
they  are  rarely  defended  by  any  attempt  at  argument, 
except  by  the  most  abandoned,  on  whom  moral  con- 
siderations have  no  influence. 


224  LECTURES     ON     THE 

1.  Theff— which  is  legally  defined  to  be,  "  unlaw- 
ful felonious  taking  away  of  another  man's  goods, 
against  the  owner's  knowledge  or  will."*  This  crime 
is  commonly  distinguished  into  private  and  public. 
Private  theft,  is  the  taking  away  a  part  of  an  indivi- 
dual's property,  without  his  knowledge  or  consent. 
Public  theft,  is  a  clandestine  and  felonious  taking 
away  the  property  of  a  community;  and  although  the 
crime  is  secretly  committed,  it  receives  its  appellation 
from  the  consideration  that  it  affects  a  public  interest. 
As  committed  against  the  commonwealth,  it  consists 
in  embezzling,  or  counterfeiting  the  current  coin,  or 
the  paper  of  legal  banks,  or  in  defrauding  the  public 
revenue;  and  also  in  what  is  called  the  running,  or 
the  false  entry,  of  goods,  or  in  any  other  act  by  which 
the  public  receives  detriment,  to  increase  the  property 
of  the  purloiner.  If  committed  against  the  church, 
it  is  called  sacrilege,  or  simony.  Sacrilege  is  the 
stealing,  or  clandestinely  taking  away,  of  any  proper- 
ty which  has  been  dedicated  to  a  sacred  use,  or  em- 
ployed for  that  purpose.  Simony,  so  called  from  its 
resemblance  to  the  sin  of  Simon  Magus,  is  the  buy- 
ing and  selling  of  ecclesiastical  places,  oflices,  or  in- 
fluence, for  money.  It  is  a  happy  feature  in  the  reli- 
gious state  of  our  country,  that  there  is  less  oppor- 
tunity, or  temptation,  for  the  commission  of  this  sin, 
than  in  any  other  state  of  Christendom.  Yet  even 
with  us,  the  sin  is  virtually  committed,  when,  for 
the  sake  of  worldly  gain,  or  emolument  of  any  kind, 
men  are  induced  to  act  in  religious  concerns,  as  they 
would  not  act  if  such  considerations  had  not  an  influ- 
ence. 

It  is  evident  at  once,  that  both  in  regard  to  private 
and  public  thefts,  there  must  be  a  great  variety,  in 
the  degrees  of  guilt,  incurred  by  the  perpetrators  of 
these  crimes.  In  all  cases,  however,  the  guilt  is  great 
in  the  sight  of  God;  and  when  known,  is  justly  pun- 
ished by  human  laws.  These  laws  are  commonly 
modified,  so  as  to  adapt  their  penalty  to  the  malignity 
of  the  offence  commiited.     Yet  I  must  not  omit  de- 

*  Cowcl, 


SHORTER     CATECHISM. 


225 


livering  it,  on  the  present  occasion,  as  my  decided 
opinion,  that  human  Hfe  ought  never  to  be  taken 
away  for  theft,  either  pubhc  or  private.  Confinement 
and  hard  labour,  seem  to  be  the  proper  penaUies  for 
all  acts  of  theft.  But  without  deep  repentance,  and 
if  possible,  full  restitution  also,  no  one  guilty  of  theft, 
can  justly  expect  forgiveness  of  God.  Thieves  are 
expressly  mentioned,  in  that  class  of  sinners  who 
"shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God;"  that  is,  if 
they  remain  impenitent  and  unreformed. 

2.  Robbery.  This  term  is  sometimes  used  as  sy- 
nonymous with  secret  theft;  but  it  is  more  commonly 
employed  to  denote  the  taking  away  of  the  property 
of  another,  by  fo7'ce  or  violence.  The  presence,  or 
knowledge  of  the  owner  of  property,  is  always  sup- 
posed in  robbery;  and  his  person  may  be  injured,  or 
his  life  be  taken,  or  he  may  be  put  in  such  fear  as  to 
offer  no  resistance.  As  it  caiuiot  be  known,  when 
robbery  is  attempted,  whether  the  robber  intends  mur- 
der or  not,  the  civil  law  will  justify  his  being  killed, 
to  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  his  wicked  purpose. 
The  divine  law,  as  contained  in  Exodus  xxii.  2,  3,  or- 
dained that  a  robber  killed  in  the  act  of  housebreak- 
ing, if  in  the  night  time,  should  have  "  no  blood  shed 
for  him;"  but  in  the  day  time,  it  was  considered  a  ca- 
pital crime  to  kill  him.  It  appears  to  me,  that  no  con- 
scientious person  would  intentionally  take  the  life  of  a 
robber, unless  there  were  the  strongest  indications  of  his 
intention  to  commit  murder,aswell  as  to  rob.  In  such  a 
case,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  it  is  not  only 
lavv'ful,  but  a  duty,  to  preserve,  if  we  can,  an  innocent 
life,  by  taking  away  a  guilty  one.  But  to  defend 
property  merely,  at  the  expense  of  the  life  of  a  robber, 
is  what  I  would  advise  you,  my  young  friends,  for- 
ever to  avoid.  Whatever  may  be  said  to  justify  it, 
conscience,  if  it  be  not  callous  or  perverted,  will,  it 
appears  to  me,  condemn  it;  and  a  clear  and  peaceful 
conscience,  is  of  more  value  than  the  wealth  of  the 
world.  Neither  do  I  think  that  human  laws,  ought 
ever  to  punish  robbery  with  death,  unless  it  has  been 
accompanied  with  actual,  or  attempted  murder.    Po- 


226  LECTURES     ON      THE 

licy  too,  as  well  as  justice  and  humanity,  dictates  this 
procedure.  Robbery  is  almost  always  accompanied 
with  murder,  in  countries  where  it  is  considered  and 
(treated,  in  all  cases,  as  a  capital  crime.  "The  dead 
[tell  no  tales,"  becomes  the  robber's  maxim;  and  life, 
as  well  as  property,  is  taken  to  prevent  detection. 
Humanity,  therefore,  to  the  unoffending,  as  well  as  to 
the  guiUy,  calls  for  a  lighter  penalty  than  that  of  death, 
for  the  crime  of  robbery,  when  not  complicated  with 
murder.  But  in  a  moral  view — in  the  eye  of  God — 
this  is  a  sin,  in  all  cases,  of  a  highly  aggravated  cha- 
racter— more  aggravated  tlian  secret  theft;  inasmuch 
as  it  not  only  deprives  our  neighbour  of  his  property, 
but  unjustly  and  wickedly  puts  him  in  fear,  even  when 
his  person  remains  uninjured. 

3.  Receiving  and  concealing  stolen  goods,  know- 
ing them  to  be  such.  The  proverb  is  not  more  trite 
than  true,  that  "  the  receiver  is  as  bad  as  the  thief." 
All  attempts  to  palliate  tliis  crime,  or  to  soothe  the 
conscience,  because  the  otfence  was  not  contrived, 
nor  actively  aided,  by  those  who  receive  properly 
known  to  be  purloined,  is  utterly  vain.  The  truth  is, 
they  are  the  encouragers  of  thieves  and  robbers,  and 
must  be  considered  as  the  abettors  of  their  villany; 
and  therefore,  by  all  laws,  human  and  divine,  they 
are  justly  considered  as  equally  guilty  with  the  prin- 
cipals. Speakingof  this  sin,  the  Psalmist  says, "  when 
thou  sawest  a  thief,  then  thou  consentest  with  him;" 
and  in  Pro  v.  xxix.  24,  it  is  said,  "  whoso  is  partner 
with  a  thief,  hateth  his  own  soul:  he  heareth  curs- 
ing, and  bewrayeth  it  not."  It  should  be  considered 
as  a  duty  obligatory  on  every  member  of  a  commu- 
nity, not  only  to  avoid  purchasing  any  property  sus- 
pected to  be  unlawfully  obtained,  but  to  use  all  suit- 
able means  to  restore  such  property  to  its  rightful 
owner,  and  to  detect  and  bring  to  justice  the  fraudu- 
lent party. 

4.  Unfaithfulness,  or  breach  of  trust;  whether 
the  trust  be  devolved  on  us  by  nature,  as  that  of  pa- 
rents towards  their  children;  or  by  contract,  as  that 
of  servants  who  are  entrusted  with  the  goods  and  se- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  227 

cretsof  iheir  masters;  or  that  which  is  involved  in  the 
known  intention  of  those  wlio  appoint  executors  to 
their  wills,  or  guardians  to  orphans,  under  age,  pro- 
vided they  accept  of  this  trust — if  those  who  are 
thus  put  in  trust,  embezzle  or  squander  away  the 
substance  of  others,  defrauding  them  to  enrich  them- 
selves— this  is  not  only  theft,  but  perfidiousness,  and 
highly  provoking  to  God,  and  deserves  a  more  se- 
vere punishment  from  men  than  is  usually  inflicted. 
To  this  add,  all  instances  in  which  property  is  put 
into  our  hands  for  sake  keeping,  or  to  be  delivered  to 
others  at  a  distance,  or  to  be  retained,  as  in  the  case 
of  attorneys,  till  it  can  be  paid  over  to  the  owner.  If 
property  held  in  trust  be  lost  by  unavoidable  acci- 
dents, we  are  not  responsible;  but  if  it  be  used  by  us 
without  permission  of  the  proprietor,  or  lost  by  mere 
carelessness  or  inattention,  guilt  is  incurred,  and  res- 
titution ought  to  be  made.  The  instances  of  late  in 
our  country  are  shockingly  numerous,  of  the  grossest 
frauds  practised  by  those  who  have  been  entrusted 
with  the  property  of  others  in  public  banks,  and  of 
clerks  in  post  offices,  and  merchants'  counting-houses 
and  stores.  The  rage  for  speculation,  the  affectation 
of  a  splendid  style  of  living,  the  love  of  theatres,  and 
gaming  tables,  and  of  illicit  pleasures  of  various  kinds, 
creating  demands  for  money  which  could  not  be  ob- 
tained lawfully,  have  been  the  prolific  sources  of 
these  evils.  Guard,  cautiously  and  most  vigilantly, 
my  young  friends,  against  every  inlet  to  these  enor- 
mities— against  the  most  distant  approach  to  the 
causes  of  such  transgressions.  There  is  nothing  of 
which  a  youth,  who  regards  either  his  prospects  for 
this  life  or  the  life  to  come,  should  be  more  careful, 
than  of  his  moral  honesty.  An  integrity  that  is  not 
only  above  guilt,  but  above  suspicion,  he  ought  to 
regard  as  a  precious  jewel,  which  he  would  sooner 
lose  his  life  than  forfeit  justly. 

5.  Borrowing  without  a  reasonable  prospect  of 
making  punctual  payment,  is  a  manifest  violation 
of  this  command.  The  Psalmist  says,  "  the  wicked 
borrovveth,  and  payeth  not  again."    "Nevertheless, 


2'28 


LECTURES    ON     THE 


there  are  some  cases  in  which  a  man  is  not  guiUy, 
though  he  borrows  and  does  not  pay,  viz. — if,  when 
he  borrowed  there  was  a  probability  of  his  being  able 
to  repay  it;  or  otherwise,  if  he  discovered  his  circum- 
stances fully  to  him  of  whom  he  borrowed,  to  whom 
it  would  hereby  appear  whether  there  was  a  likeli- 
hood of  his  paying  him  or  not;  or  if  he  gave  full  con- 
viction, when  he  borrowed,  that  he  was  able  to  pay, 
but  the  providence  of  God,  without  his  own  default, 
has  rendered  him  unable;  in  this  case,  mercy  is  to  be 
shown  him,  and  he  is  not  to  be  reckoned  a  breaker  of 
this  commandment."*  But  there  will  be  a  breach 
of  this  precept,  if  the  lender  is  made  to  believe  by  the 
borrower,  that  his  circumstances  are  better  than  they 
really  are.  Shocking  instances  of  this  kind,  too  often 
take  place  in  trade,  when  a  merchant  borrows  large 
sums  of  money,  or  purchases  goods  on  credit,  when 
he  knows,  or  ought  to  know,  that  his  affairs  are  des- 
perate, and  that  in  a  short  time  he  must  be  a  bank- 
rupt. In  all  cases  in  which  money  or  other  property 
is  borrowed,  when  there  is  no  probability,  or  very 
little,  that  payment  can  be  made,  a  crime,  little  short 
of  real  theft  is  committed.  Nay,  if  a  man  borrows 
money  which,  if  he  were  frugal  and  industrious,  he 
would  be  able  to  repay  punctually,  but  renders  him- 
self unable  by  prodigality,  unlawful  expense  in  liv- 
ing, or  by  idleness  and  the  want  of  economy,  he  cer- 
tainly violates  this  commandment.  Wherever  credi- 
tors compound  with  their  debtors,  for  a  part  instead 
of  the  whole  that  is  their  due,  if  the  debtors  after- 
wards become  able  to  repay  the  whole,  they  are  sa- 
credly bound  in  conscience  to  do  it,  although  the 
laws  of  the  state  may  not  be  able  to  compel  them. 
But  I  cannot  leave  this  part  of  our  subject,  my  young 
friends,  without  counselling  you  to  impress  on  your 
memory  deeply,  what  is  said  by  Solomon,  "the  bor- 
rower is  servant  to  the  lender;"  and  therefore  never 
to  contract  a  habit  of  borrowing.  Dread  to  be  in 
debt;  it  will  destroy  your  independence.  Want  much, 
rather  than  borrow  often:  and  when  you  do  borrow, 

*  Ridgley. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  229 

suffer  not  a  little  inconvenience,  rather  than  fail  to 
make  punctual  payments.  He  who  borrows  frequent- 
ly  and  pays  remissly,  loses  all  dignity  and  influence 
of  character;  and  is  certainly  not  without  sin  in  the 
eye  of  God. 

6.  This  commandment  clearly  forbids  oppression. 
It  is  not  practicable  to  enumerate  all  the  forms  and 
instances  of  oppression.     The  rich  may  oppress  the 
poor,  by  delay  in  paying  them  for  labour  they  have 
performed;  or  for  goods  or  manufactures  they  have 
furnished;   or   by  not   allowing  them  a   reasonable 
compensation  for  their  services;  or  by  demanding  an 
exorbitant  rent  of  houses,  or  lands;  and  still  more, 
by  seizing  their  goods  for  rents,  which,  without  their 
fault,  they  are  unable  to  pay.     To  "grind  the  face  of 
the  poor,"  in  whatever  way  it  may  be  done,  is  a  sin 
which  God,  their  avenger,  will  not  suffer  to  go  un- 
punished.    This  commandment  is  also  clearly  vio- 
lated by  those  who  exact  of  servants,  or  apprentices, 
or  hirelings,  more  labour  than  is  reasonable,  or  de- 
prive them  of  rewards  or  comforts,  which  they  ought 
to  possess.     The  monopolizing,  or  engrossing  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  so  as  to  obtain  for  them  an  exor- 
bitant price,  in  consequence  of  which  the  poor  are 
driven  to  extremities,  and  others  are  obliged  to  pay 
unduly  for  what  they  obtain,  is  a  form  of  oppression, 
which  the  spirit  of  this  precept  unquestionably  pro- 
hibits.   In  a  word,  he  who,  in  any  respect  or  particu- 
lar, has  another  in  his  power,  as  to  matters  of  pro- 
perty, and  does  as  he  would  not  be  done  by,  trans- 
gresses the  commandment  we  consider.     Nor  do  I 
feel  at  liberty  to  pass  this  particular,  without  stating 
distinctly,  that  nations,  as  well  as  individuals,  may  be 
oppressors.     The  Egyptians  of  old,  suffered  the  just 
and  sore  judgments  of  Jehovah,  for  oppressing  the 
\  Israelites;  and  we  have  great  reason  to  fear  that  our 
,  nation  will  experience  the  marked  chastisements  of  a 
righteous  God,  for  our  oppression  of  the  African  race, 
and  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  our  land — inhabi- 
tants to  whom  the  Creator  gave  it,  as  their  portion  of 


230 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


his  earth,  before  it  was  ever  seen  by  us,  or  by  our 
fathers. 

7.  Unjust  and  vexatious  lawsuits  violate  the  pre- 
cept before  us.  "  The  law  is  good,  if  a  man  use  it 
lawfully."  It  is  a  great  privilege  and  blessing  to 
live  in  a  country  where  law  governs;  and  where 
therefore  neither  a  tyrant  nor  a  mob  can  injure  a  man 
in  his  person  or  property,  without  redress.  To  afford 
protection,  and  to  redress  injuries,  is  the  proper  office 
of  the  law.  Yet  slight  offences  and  injuries,  our  Sa- 
viour has  taught  us,  would  in  many  instances  be 
better -suffered  in  silence  than  be  redressed  by  an  ap- 
peal to  law;  and  the  Apostle  Paul  teaches,  that  in  all 
common  cases,  Cliristian  brethren  should  endeavour 
to  settle  their  differences  and  controversies,  without 
going  to  law  with  each  other.  But  the  law,  although 
intended  to  promote  and  ensure  equity,  may  be,  and 
too  frequently  is,  used  as  an  instrument  of  oppression 
and  injustice.  So  it  is  used  "when  the  rich  make 
use  of  the  law  to  prevent  or  prolong  the  payment  of 
their  debts,  or  to  take  away  the  rights  of  the  poor, 
who,  as  they  suppose,  will  rather  suffer  injuries  than 
attempt  to  defend  themselves — when  bribes  are  either 
given  or  taken,  with  a  design  to  pervert  justice:  and 
to  this  we  may  add,  that  the  person  who  pleads  an 
unrighteous  cause,  concealing  the  known  truth,  per- 
verting the  sense  of  the  law,  or  alleging  that  for  law 
or  fact,  which  he  knov.'s  not  to  be  so;  and  the  judge 
who  passes  sentence  against  his  conscience,  respect- 
ing the  person  of  the  rich,  and  brow-beating  the  poor; 
these  are  all  confederates  in  oppression;  and  such 
nethods  are,  beyond  dispute,  a  breach  of  this  com- 
mandment."* 

7.  Usurious  interest  for'  money  loaned,  is  a  viola- 
tion of  this  precept.  It  has  been  very  plausibly  niain- 
tained,  that  it  would  be  better  for  the  community,  if 
there  were  no  laws  fixing  the  rate  of  interest  for 
money;  but  if  this,  like  all  other  kinds  of  property, 
were  left  free,  to  be  used  to  as  great  profit  by  the 

*  Ridgley. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  23 1 

owner,  as  he  may  be  able  to  secure.  But  certainly 
while  laws  exist,  they  ought  to  be  scrupulously 
obeyed  by  every  good  citizen ;  and  especially  by  those 
who  feel  the  obligation  they  are  under  to  adorn  their 
Christian  profession  and  character,  by  "  abstaining 
from  all  appearance  of  evil."  It  is  reproachful  among 
worldly  men  of  fair  and  honourable  character,  to  take 
the  advantage  of  individual  necessity  and  embarrass- 
ment, to  discount  notes  at  an  enormous  premium;  or 
in  any  other  way,  to  extort  an  exorbitant  interest  on 
money  loaned.  It  will  not  unfrequently  happen,  that 
the  poor  may  be  more  benefited  eventually  by  the 
lending  of  small  sums,  without  interest,  than  by  an 
absolute  gift.  In  this  way,  a  wealthy  and  benevolent 
Christian  will,  as  he  has  opportunity,  rejoice  "  to  do 
good  and  communicate."  To  exact  interest  from  the 
poor,  when  the  loan  made  was  to  procure  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  is  ever  to  be  regarded  as  unchristian. 

8.  Gambling  of  every  species,  is  to  be  esteemed  a 
flagrant  breach  of  the  eighth  commandment.  As  it 
relates  to  the  violation  of  the  duty  which  a  man  owes 
to  himself,  I  have  already  noticed  it.  Now  we  con- 
sider it  as  an  unlawful  acquisition  of  the  property  of 
another.  Such  it  surely  is;  for  if  it  is  sinful  for  him 
to  risk  his  property  in  gaming,  his  doing  it  voluntarily, 
can  never  make  it  innocent  for  the  winner  to  profit 
by  his  neighbour's  guilt.  The  winner  and  the  loser 
are  alike  guilty;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  no  instance 
can  be  produced,  of  a  truly  pious  and  conscienlious 
man,  who  did  not  regard  gaming  as  highly  sinful, 
and  the  practice  as  deeply  injurious  to  society,  and  in 
every  view  detestable.  Lotteries  have  sometimes,  it 
cannot  be  denied,  been  countenanced  and  shared  in, 
vby  men  of  unquestionable  piety.  But  so  have  some 
other  things,  which  reflection  and  observation  have 
at  length  ascertained  to  be  wrong,  and  of  evil  conse- 
quence. Among  such  things,  I  hesitate  not  to  say, 
that  lotteries  hold  a  conspicuous  place.  Their  eff'ects 
are,  beyond  a  question,  of  evil  influence  on  society; 
and  often  ruinous  to  individuals  also,  whether  they 
miss  or  obtain  a  prize.   I  counsel  you  to  have  nothing 


232  LECTURES     ON     THE 

to  do  with  them,  and  to  use  your  whole  influence  to 
banish  them  utterly  from  society. 

9.  Finally,  Unfait hfulness  in  rendering  service  to 
an  employer,  is  a  transgression  of  the  command  we 
consider.  Wages,  or  compensation,  are  always  sti- 
pulated for  a  certain  amount  of  lawful  profit  or  ad- 
vantage, which  an  employer  expects  to  derive  from 
faithful  service  to  be  rendered.  Nov^^  unfaithfulness 
always  diminishes  that  amount,  and  sometimes  occa- 
sions an  entire  loss;  and  such  diminution  or  loss,  to 
its  full  extent,  is  an  actual  fraud,  committed  by  him 
who  fails  to  render  the  service  which,  from  him,  was 
justly  due.  I  have  spoken  of  the  injustice  that  may 
be  done  to  apprentices,  or  hirelings,  by  exacting  from 
them  an  undue  amount  of  service;  but  these  latter 
should  remember,  that  they  may  be  chargeable  with 
the  very  same  injustice  towards  their  employers,  by 
the  want  of  industry,  activity  and  fidelity,  in  all  that 
is  reasonably  expected  from  them.  In  wjiatever 
manner  or  form,  my  dear  youth,  you  may  be  employ- 
ed or  entrusted  by  others,  your  duty  to  God,  to  your 
neighbour,  and  to  yourselves,  equally  demands  that 
you  "  show  all  good  fidelity."  Nothing  will  more 
contribute  to  gain  you  friends,  to  promote  your  world- 
ly interest  and  prosperity,  and  to  secure  your  own 
peace  of  mind,  than  to  prove  yourselves  to  be  entirely 
irust-iuorthy,  to  prove  that  whatever  you  are  expect- 
ed to  perform,  will  be  actively,  industriously,  and 
faithfully  done,  to  the  extent  of  your  ability.  The 
habits  you  will  form  by  such  a  course  of  action,  will 
be  a  better  fortune  than  they  possess  who  have  wealth 
by  inheritance;  will  give  you  more  influence  and  re- 
spectability of  character  as  you  advance  in  life;  and 
will  be  most  favourable  to  the  reception  and  cultiva- 
tion of  those  moral  and  religious  principles,  on  which 
your  everlasting  happiness  must  depend. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  233 


LECTURE  LIV. 


The  ninth  commandment,  which  we  are  now  to  con- 
sider,  is — "  Thou  shall  not  bear  false  witness  against 
thy  neighbour."  This  commandment  "  requireth  the 
maintaining  and  promoting  of  truth  between  man  and 
man;  and  of  our  own  and  our  neighbour's  good  name, 
especially  in  witness  bearing."  The  requisitions  of 
the  precept  before  us,  as  here  stated,  will  form  the 
subject  of  the  present  lecture:  and  the  first  thing  to 
be  considered,  because  it  is  fundamental  in  the  whole 
of  the  discussion,  is  the  nature  and  obligation  of  truth. 

The  meaning  of  some  words  is  so  plain  and  obvious, 
that  it  cannot  be  made  more  so.  It  is,  I  think,  scarcely 
practicable  to  give  a  definition  of  truth,  that  will  im- 
part a  clearer  idea  of  it,  than  is  conveyed  by  the  word 
itself  "Truth,"  says  Locke,  "is  the  joining  or 
separating  of  signs,  as  the  things  signified  agree  or 
disagree."  Johnson's  definition  is  more  plain  and 
popular.  He  says  it  is  "  the  contrary  to  falsehood; 
conformity  of  notions  to  things;  conformity  of  words 
to  thoughts." 

Those  who  maintain  that  the  foundation  and  sanc- 
tion of  all  virtue  is  to  be  found  iti  utility  alone,  relax 
the  obligation  of  truth,  to  a  degree  that  to  me  appears 
highly  exceptionable  and  dangerous.  In  many  in- 
stances it  is  not  easy,  and  in  some  utterly  impractica- 
ble, even  for  a  well  informed  and  conscientious  man, 
to  say  what  utility,  taken,  as  it  must  be  here,  in  its 
large  sense,  as  relating  to  the  general  good,  does  really 
dictate:  and  to  leave  every  man  to  s[)eak  truth  or 
falsehood,  on  every  emergency,  according  to  his  own 
views  of  what  will,  on  the  whole,  be  for  the  general 
benefit,  is  to  rest  a  virtue  of  the  highest  importance 
on  a  very  uncertain  and  slippery  foundation.  I  men- 
tion this,  my  young  friends,  because  some  writers  on 

VOL.  II. — 16 


234  LECTURES     ON    THE 

morals,  who  have  fame  and  fashion  on  their  side, 
have  actually  weakened  the  obligation  of  truth,  as  I 
apprehend,  to  a  very  dangerous  extent,  pleading  util- 
ity as  the  justification  of  their  doctrine. 

It  is  in  the  nature  and  will  of  God,  that  we  find 
the  true  foundation,  obligation,  and  standard,  of  every 
thing  that  deserves,  in  a  moral  sense,  the  name  of  vij'- 
tue.  It  is  the  highest  honour,  true  happiness,  and 
indispensable  obhgalion,  of  every  moral  being  in  the 
universe,  to  be  and  act,  in  moral  concerns,  like  his 
Maker,  to  the  utmost  extent  of  the  faculties  which 
have  been  bestowed  upon  him.  "Be  ye  holy,  for  I 
am  holy,"  is  our  Creator's  explicit  command;  and  to 
be  like  our  "  Father  who  is  in  heaven,"  is,  by  our 
blessed  Saviour,  proposed  as  the  high  consideration, 
by  which  our  conduct  should  be  directed  and  govern- 
ed. Now,  it  is  the  character  of  God,  an  essential  at- 
tribute of  his  nature,  "  that  he  cannot  and  will  not 
lie."  Neither  is  there  any  one  thing  which  is  repre- 
sented in  holy  Scripture  as  more  hateful  to  God,  more 
the  object  of  his  abhorrence,  or  more  certainly  sub- 
jecting the  offender  to  his  severe  displeasure,  than 
every  species  of  falsehood  and  deceit.  He  declares 
that  "  all  liars  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which 
burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone;  this  is  the  second 
death."  He  requires  "  truth  and  uprightness  in  the 
inner  man."  And  it  was  the  emphatic  commendation 
of  Nathaniel  by  our  Redeemer — "  Behold  an  Israelite 
indeed;  in  whom  there  is  no  guile." 

You  will  find  indeed  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  sev- 
eral examples  of  good  men  who,  under  the  force  of 
temptation,  or  through  the  remainders  of  depravity, 
violated  truth;  and  their  guilt  in  this  respect  is  not 
always  explicitly  stated,  in  the  places  where  their  sin 
is  recorded.  But  in  every  instance  their  guilt  is  im- 
plied, and  never  extenuated;  and  in  some  cases,  as  in 
those  of  Abraham  and  Jacob,  the  punishment  wliich 
followed  their  crime,  is  narrated  at  length.  Abraham 
was  put  to  shame  before  Pharaoh  and  Abimelech, 
and  received  reproof  from  both;  and  Jacob  was  long 
an  exile,  was  deceived  and  imposed  on  by  Laban, 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  235 

and  lived  for  many  years  in  constant  dread  of  his 
brother  Esau — all  as  the  consequence  of  his  own  and 
his  mother's  falsehood  and  deception. 

Having  made  these  general  remarks  on  the  nature, 
foundation,  and  obligation  of  truth,  I  shall  give  you 
some  quotations  from  an  author  whose  views  entirely 
accord  with  my  own:  and  I  do  it  for  the  twofold  rea- 
son of  availing  myself  of  his  authority,  and  of  express- 
ing my  thoughts,  at  once  compendiously  and  with 
entire  perspicuity.  You  will  be  careful  to  notice, 
that  there  are  other  sig7is  of  thought  beside  words, 
and  that  whatever  be  the  sign,  the  obligation  of  truth 
is  the  same. 

"  Instituted  signs  are  those  that  have  no  other  con- 
nexion with  the  thing  signified,  than  what  has  been 
made  by  agreement;  as  if  two  persons  shall  agree 
between  themselves,  that  if  the  one  wants  to  signify 
to  the  other  at  a  distance,  that  he  wishes  him  to  come 
to  his  assistance,  he  will  kindle  a  fire  upon  a  certain 
hill,  or  hang  out  a  flag  upon  a  certain  pinnacle  of  his 
house,  or  some  part  of  his  ship.  Words  and  writing 
are  properly  instituted  signs,  for  they  have  no  relation 
to  the  thing  signified,  but  what  original  agreement 
and  long  custom  has  given  them. 

"  Customary  signs  are  no  other  than  instituted  signs 
which  have  long  prevailed,  and  whose  institution  has 
either  been  accidental  or  has  been  forgotten.  It  is 
also  usual  to  apply  the  word  customary,  to  such  signs 
as  depend  upon  the  mode  and  fashion  of  particular 
countries.  There  are  some  signs  and  postures,  which 
though  they  may  seem  perfectly  arbitrary,  have  ob- 
tained very  generally,  perhaps  universally,  as  bending 
down  the  body,  or  prostration,  as  a  sign  of  respect 
and  reverence;  kneeling,  and  lifting  up  the  hands,  as 
a  sign  of  submission  and  supplication.  Perhaps  both 
these  are  natural,  as  they  put  the  person  into  the  situ- 
ation least  capable  of  resistance. 

"  Sometimes  there  is  a  mixture  of  natural  and  in- 
stituted signs,  as  if  a  man  sends  a  pair  of  wings,  or 
the  figure  of  them,  to  a  friend,  to  intimate  his  danger, 
and  the  necessity  of  flying. 


236  LECTURES     ON     THE 

"  In  the  use  of  signs,  the  great  rule  of  sincerity  is, 
that  wherever  we  are  bound,  and  wherever  we  pro- 
fess to  connmunicate  our  intention,  we  ought  to  use 
the  signs  in  the  least  ambiguous  manner  possible. 
When  we  have  no  intention,  and  are  under  no  obli- 
gation to  communicate  any  thing  to  others,  it  is  of 
small  moment  what  appearances  are;  it  is  their  busi- 
ness not  to  make  any  unnecessary  or  uncertain  infer- 
ences. A  light  in  a  house,  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
will  perhaps  suggest  most  probably,  to  a  traveller 
accidentally  passing,  that  there  is  somebody  sick  in 
that  house;  yet  perhaps  it  is  extraordinary  study  or 
business,  that  keeps  some  person  awake. 

"  Nay,  when  there  is  no  obligation  to  give,  nor  any 
reason  for  the  party  to  expect  true  information,  it  is 
held  generally  no  crime  at  all,  to  use  such  signs  as  we 
have  reason  to  suppose  will  be  mistaken;  as  one  who 
does  not  desire  to  be  disturbed  keeps  his  chamber 
close  shut,  that  people  may  conclude  he  is  not  there: 
or  when  a  general  of  an  army  puts  a  fire  in  his  camp, 
to  conceal  his  march  or  retreat.  And  probably  none 
would  think  it  faulty,  when  there  was  an  apprehen- 
sion of  thieves,  to  keep  a  light  burning  in  a  chamber, 
to  lead  them  to  suppose  the  whole  family  is  not  at 
rest. 

"There  are  some  who  place  in  the  same  rank,  eva- 
sive phrases,  when  there  is  an  apparent  intention  to 
speak  our  mind,  but  no  right  in  the  other  to  obtain  it. 
Such  expressions  may  be  strictly  true,  and  yet  there 
is  all  probability  that  the  hearer  will  misunderstand 
them.  As  if  one  should  ask  if  a  person  was  in  any 
house,  and  should  receive  for  answer,  he  went  away 
yesterday  morning,  when  perhaps  he  returned  the 
same  evening.  I  look  upon  these  evasions,  however, 
as  very  doubtful,  and  indeed  rather  not  to  be  chosen, 
because  they  seem  to  contain  a  profession  of  telling 
our  real  mind. 

"  Some  mention  ironical  speech,  as  an  exception  to 
the  obligation  to  sincerity.  But  it  is  properly  no  ob- 
jection at  all,  because  there  is  no  deception.  Truth 
lies  not  in  the  words  themselves,  but  in  the  use  of 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  237 

them  as  signs.  Therefore,  if  a  man  speak  his  words 
in  such  a  tone  and  manner,  as  that  the  hearer  imme- 
diately conceives  they  are  to  be  taken  in  an  opposite 
sense,  and  does  really  take  them  in  the  sense  the 
speaker  means  them,  there  is  no  falsehood  at  all. 

"Mr.  Hutchinson,  and  some  others,  allow  a  volun- 
tary intended  departure  from  truth,  on  occasion  of 
some  great  necessity,  for  a  good  end.  This  I  appre- 
hend is  wrong;  for  we  cannot  but  consider  deception 
as  in  itself  base  and  unworthy,  and  therefore  a  good 
end  cannot  justify  it.  Besides,  to  suppose  it  were  in 
men's  power  on  a  sufficient  occasion  to  violate  truth, 
would  greatly  destroy  its  force  in  general,  and  its  use 
in  the  social  life. 

"  There  are  two  sorts  of  falsehood,  which,  because 
no  doubt  they  are  less  aggravated  than  malicious  in- 
terested lies,  many  admit  of,  but  I  think  without  suffi- 
cient reason. 

"  1.  Jocular  lies,  when  there  is  a  real  deception 
intended,  but  not  in  any  thing  material,  nor  intended 
to  continue  long.  However  harmless  these  may  seem, 
I  reckon  they  are  to  be  blamed,  because  it  is  using 
too  much  freedom  with  so  sacred  a  thing  as  truth. 
And  very  often  such  persons,  as  a  righteous  punish- 
ment in  Providence,  are  left  to  proceed  further,  and 
either  to  carry  their  folly  to  such  excess,  as  to  become 
contemptible,  or  to  go  beyond  folly  into  malice. 

"  2.  Officious  lies,  telling  falsehoods  to  children,  or 
sick  persons,  for  their  good.  These  very  seldom  an- 
swer the  end  that  is  proposed.  They  lessen  the  re- 
verence for  truth;  and,  particularly  with  regard  to 
children,  are  exceedingly  pernicious;  for  as  they  must 
soon  be  discovered,  they  lose  their  force,  and  teach 
them  to  deceive.  Truth  and  authority  are  methods 
infinitely  preferable,  in  dealing  with  children,  as  well 
as  with  persons  of  riper  years."  *         *         * 

"  A  question  is  often  moved  in  morals,  how  far  it 
is  lawful  to  deceive  an  enemy?  especially  if  we  hold 
the  general  and  universal  obligation  of  truth.  To  this 
it  may  be  answered,  in  the  first  place,  that  we  may 
certainly,  with  great  justice,  conceal  our  own  designs 


238 


LECTURES    ON     THE 


from  an  enemy,  as  indeed  we  may  generally  from 
friends,  by  silence,  and  guarding  against  every  cir- 
cumstance that  may  betray  them.  Neither  do  I  think 
there  is  any  thing  at  all  blame-worthy  in  a  general  of 
an  army  using  ambiguous  signs,  as  feigned  marches 
of  a  part  or  the  whole,  putting  up  lights  or  such 
things,  because  after  a  declaration  of  war,  he  does 
not  pretend  to  give  information  to  his  enemy  of  his 
motions;  nay,  it  is  expected  on  both  sides  that  they 
will  do  the  best  they  can  to  overreach  one  another,  in 
point  of  prudence.  Yet  I  can  scarce  think  it  right  to 
employ  people  to  go  to  the  enemy,  and  professing  to 
be  sincere,  tell  direct  falsehoods,  and  deceive  them  by 
that  false  intelligence."  *         «         *         *         « 

"  All  proposals  tending  to  peace  ought  to  be  made 
with  the  greatest  sincerity.  Of  all  deceits  in  war,  the 
most  infamous  is  that  of  making  a  treaty,  or  asking  a 
conference,  only  to  take  the  advantage  of  one  party 
to  destroy  him  by  assassination;  or  by  breaking  a 
truce  to  fight  with  advantage."^ 

Thus  it  appears,  that  "  in  maintaining  and  promo- 
ting truth  between  man  and  man,"  whether  it  be  in 
common  conversation,  or  in  our  promises,  oaths,  bar- 
gains or  contracts,  and  whether  the  method  of  ex- 
pressing our  thoughts  be  by  words,  or  by  other  signs 
or  tokens,  we  are  to  observe  a  strict  veracity;  and 
that  even  toward  an  enemy,  we  are  not  to  make  use 
of  falsehood,  although  we  may  lawfully  conceal  the 
truth,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  when  he  has  no  right 
to  expect  that  we  should  make  it  known. 

It  remains  to  consider  how  we  are  to  maintain  and 
promote  our  own  and  our  neighbour's  good  name, 
especially  in  witness  bearing. 

1.  We  ought,  in  our  own  case,  justly  to  estimate 
the  value  of  a  good  name;  and  consider  what  we  may 
do,  and  what  we  may  not  do,  in  order  to  preserve  it, 
"A  good  name,  says  Solomon,  is  better  than  precious 
ointment;"  and  he  elsewhere  declares,  that  'Mt  is  ra- 
ther  to  be  chosen  than  great   riches."     Without   a 

*  Witherspoon's  Moral  Philosophy. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  239 

measure  of  the  confidence  of  those  among  whom  we 
dwell,  we  can  neither  do  them  good  nor  be  happy 
ourselves.  Whatever  is  said  or  done  by  a  man  whom 
we  distrust, stands  for  nothing  in  our  estimation;  and 
it  does  not  belong  to  human  nature  to  have  inward 
satisfaction,  when  this  distrust  becomes  universal.  A 
reputation  for  integrity,  therefore,  is  of  inestimable 
value  to  every  man,  and  he  ought  to  regard  it  as 
above  all  price.  But  beside  integrity,  a  character  for 
benevolence,  and  for  activity  in  lawful  business,  and 
in  doing  good  to  others  as  we  have  opportunity,  in- 
creases our  own  happiness,  and  greatly  enlarges  our 
sphere  of  usefulness.  Your  first  concern,  therefore, 
my  young  friends,  should  be  to  deserve  the  esteem 
and  affection  of  others,  and  your  second,  to  preserve 
it  when  acquired.  I  would  be  far  from  directing  you 
to  aim  at  popular  applause,  or  what  the  world  calls 
fame.  This  often  proves  a  most  dangerous  snare, 
and  is  contrary  to  the  very  spirit  of  the  gospel.  Your 
primary  object  should  be  to  please  God:  and  if  you 
do  this,  you  will  not  fail  to  secure  the  approbation 
and  friendship  of  the  good  and  virtuous,  and  ulti- 
mately to  obtain  more  of  the  confidence,  and  even 
the  applause  of  the  world  at  large,  than  by  any  other 
course.  When  a  man  is  believed  to  be  thoroughly 
conscientious  in  all  he  does,  bad  men  as  well  as  good, 
will  choose  to  commit  their  dearest  interests  to  his 
management,  rather  than  to  any  one  of  a  different 
character.  It  has  been  well  said  by  the  author  al- 
ready so  largely  quoted,  that  "  it  is  not  a  contradic- 
tion, but  perfectly  consistent  to  say,  a  man  should  be 
tender  and  even  jealous  of  his  character,  and  yet  not 
greedy  of  praise.  There  is  an  amiableness  and  dig- 
nity in  the  first,  but  a  meanness  and  littleness  in  the 
last."  But  with  every  real  Christian,  the  strongest 
of  all  motives  to  preserve  his  character  from  stain, 
will  be  a  desire  not  to  bring  a  reproach  on  his  profes- 
sion— not  to  do  injury  to  the  cause  of  his  dear  and 
adored  Saviour.  This  he  will  dread  more  than  death 
itself. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  it  is  not 


240  LECTURES      ON      THE 

possible  for  a  Christian  altogether  to  escape  the  re- 
proach of  an  ungodly  world;  and  that  temptations  to 
endeavour  to  escape  it,  by  unlawful  compliances,  will 
ever  be  among  the  most  insidious  and  powerful,  with 
which  the  disciple  of  Christ  will  have  to  contend. 
Our  Redemer  has  given  us  fair  warning  on  this  sub- 
ject. "  If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love 
his  own;  but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but 
I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the 
world  hateth  you.  Remember  the  word  that  I  said 
unto  you.  The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  Lord. 
If  they  have  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  persecute 
you:  if  they  have  kept  my  sayings  they  will  keep 
yours  also.^'  In  every  age  of  the  world,  the  trial  of 
"cruel  mockings,"  has  been  one  which  the  steadfast, 
consistent  and  zealous  Christian,  has  had  to  endure: 
and  he  could  not  endure  it,  were  he  not  sustained  by 
the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  the  known  ap- 
probation of  his  God,  the  sympathy  and  prayers  of 
his  fellow  believers,  and  the  prospect  of  the  acquittal 
and  honour  which  he  anticipates  in  the  day  of  final 
retribution. 

A  defence  of  our  good  name,  when  it  is  assailed  by 
slander  or  false  accusation,  and  when  defence  may 
probably  be  effectual,  is  not  only  lawful  but  an  incum- 
bent duty.  "  There  may  be  cases,"  says  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon,  "  where  vindications  may  be  necessary  and 
effectual,  but  they  are  not  many.  And  I  think  I  have 
seen  in  the  course  of  life,  reason  to  make  the  follow- 
ing distinction.  If  the  accusation  or  slander  be  special, 
and  relate  to  a  particular  fact,  fixed  by  time,  place, 
and  other  circumstances,  and  if  it  be  either  wholly 
false,  or  essentially  mistaken  in  its  nature  and  ten- 
dency, the  matter  may  be  explained,  and  justice  may 
be  done.  But  if  it  be  a  general  character,  that  hap- 
pens to  be  imputed  to  a  man,  he  ought  to  attempt  no 
refutation  of  it,  but  by  conduct:  the  more  he  com- 
plains of  it,  the  more  he  speaks  of  it,  the  more  he 
denies  it,  it  will  be  the  more  believed.  For  example, 
if  it  be  affirmed  that  a  man  spoke  profanely  in  a  cer- 
tain company,  at  a  certain  place  and  time,  when  he 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  24 1 

was  not  present  at  all,  it  may  be  easily  and  complete- 
ly refuted;  but  if  he  is  accused  of  being  proud,  con- 
tentions, covetous,  or  deceitful,  although  these  accusa- 
tions are  pretended  to  be  supported  by  a  train  of 
facts,  it  is  better  to  let  them  wholly  alone,  and  suffer 
his  conduct  to  speak  for  itself.  There  are  instances 
in  history,  of  accusations  brought  with  much  plausi- 
bility, and  urged  with  great  vehemence,  which  yet 
have  been  either  from  the  beginning  disbelieved,  or 
by  time  confuted;  which  occasioned  the  Latin  pro- 
verb, Magna  est  Veritas  et  praevalebit.^'  Great  is 
the  truth  and  it  will  prevail. 

In  defending  ourselves  against  attacks  on  our  cha- 
racter, we  may  lawfully  refer  to  commendable  actions 
performed  by  ourselves,  and  to  other  circumstances 
and  considerations,  which  it  would  otherwise  be  vain- 
glorious to  recite.  We  have  the  example  of  the  apostle 
Paul  for  this.  But  we  ought  ever  to  do  it,  as  he  did 
— evidently  with  a  concern  for  the  honour  of  our 
Christian  character  and  profession — rather  than  with 
a  view  to  self-exaltation.  The  apostle,  in  his  second 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  says,  "  in  nothing  am  I  be- 
hind the  very  chiefest  apostle;"  but  he  immediately 
adds — "though  I  be  nothing."  And  in  a  previous 
letter  to  this  same  church,  he  had,  in  the  spirit  of  true 
humility,  told  them,  "  I  am  the  least  of  the  apostles, 
that  am  not  meet  to  be  called  an  apostle,  because  I 
persecuted  the  church  of  God.  But  by  the  grace  of 
God,  I  am  what  I  am." 

Except  in  a  plea  against  slander,  there  are  few 
cases,  indeed,  in  which  we  should  make  any  attempt 
to  promote  our  own  good  name,  in  any  other  way 
than  by  zeal  and  activity  in  doing  good.  In  all  cases, 
the  trite  maxim  is  just,  "that  actions  speak  louder 
than  words,"  but  in  no  case  is  it  so  applicable  as  in 
that  which  we  consider.  Self-praise  is  even  worse 
than  nothing — it  is  a  sad  blemish  in  a  man  of  real 
merit,  and  is  commonly  so  considered.  He  who  pro- 
claims his  own  good  deeds,  will  find  them  far  less 
proclaimed  by  others,  than  if  he  had  been  entirely 


242  LECTURES     ON    THE 

silent.  Vanity  and  boasting  are  like  Solomon's  dead 
flies  in  the  ointment  of  the  apothecary;  and  he  might 
have  had  a  reference  to  the  very  case  in  hand,  in 
adding  as  he  does—"  so  doth  a  little  folly,  him  that  is 
in  reputation  for  wisdom  and  honour." 

2.  We  are  to  endeavour  to  promote  our  neighbour's 
good  name,  as  v/ell  as  our  own.  We  here  need  no 
other  rule,  if  we  would  faithfully  apply  it,  than  the 
general  one,  of  doing  as  we  would  be  done  by.  Yet 
I  am  ready  to  believe  that  this  rule  is  nevermore  fre- 
quently and  palpably  violated,  than  in  the  matter  of 
treating  our  neighbour's  character  and  reputation,  as 
we  would  wish  him  to  treat  our  own.  The  number 
of  those  who  do  this,  is,  I  fear,  very  small.  The  vio- 
lations of  the  rule  will  be  considered  in  the  following 
lecture:  and  in  the  mean  time,  in  speaking  of  the 
positive  duty,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  remark,  that 
while  we  avoid  all  flattery,  as  dangerous  to  our  neigh- 
bour's virtue,  we  should  prudently  and  seasonably 
commend,  and  sometimes  even  applaud  him,  for  wor- 
thy actions,  that  he  may  be  encouraged  to  continue 
to  perform  them;  and  thus  not  only  preserve,  but 
increase  the  reputation  and  influence  which  he  has 
acquired.  A  virtuous  but  diffident  youth,  by  being 
discreetly  commended  and  encouraged,  may  be  led 
forward  to  exertions  and  usefulness,  of  which  the 
world  might  otherwise  have  been  deprived,  and  which 
may  greatly  redound  to  hi^  own  honour  and  happi- 
ness. In  like  manner,  when  we  perceive  any  thing 
in  our  neighbour  which  is  injurious  to  his  good  name, 
we  sliould  apprize  him  of  it  with  meekness  and  love. 
This  is  sometimes  a  difficult  duty  to  perform,  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  do  good  and  not  evil.  Yet  it  is  one 
which  we  must  not  neglect.  The  expressions  of  So- 
lomon on  this  subject  are  remarkable — "  Open  rebuke 
is  better  than  secret  love.  Faithful  are  the  wounds 
of  a  friend — He  that  rebuketh  a  man,  afterwards 
shall  find  more  favour,  than  he  that  flattereth  with 
the  tongue."  Fill  your  hearts  with  kindness,  and 
your  eyes  with  tears,  my  young  friends,  when  you 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  243 

tell  a  man  of  his  faults,  and  you  will  very  rarely 
offend  him — Often  he  will  thank  and  love  you  for 
your  fidelity. 

It  is  a  sacred  duty  to  defend  the  character  of  an  ab- 
sent individual,  when  we  know  or  believe  him  to  be 
innocent  of  the  crimes,  or  offences,  with  which  we 
hear  him  charged.  Silence,  in  such  a  case,  is  really 
to  make  ourselves  a  party  with  the  false  accuser.  We 
ought  moreover  freely  to  admit  the  merit  of  others, 
and  duly  to  applaud  their  worthy  deeds:  and  imless 
duty  forbids,  we  should  be  silent  in  regard  to  the  in- 
firmities and  blemishes  of  those,  of  whom  we  have 
occasion  to  speak.  I  have  said  we  should  do  this, 
unless  duty  forbids  it;  for  there  may  be  cases,  in 
which  we  ought  to  warn  an  unsuspicious  person  of 
his  danger,  when  we  perceive  that  he  is  about  to  put 
himself  into  the  power  of  one  whom  we  know  it  is 
perilous  to  trust:  and  on  whatever  occasion,  when 
properly  called  on  to  declare  what  we  know  of  a 
man's  character,  we  ought  to  do  it  faithfully.  But  in 
all  other  cases,  it  is  a  Christian  duty  to  be  silent,  in 
regard  to  the  imperfections  of  character;  and  even 
when  mentioned  by  others,  we  ought  to  extenuate 
them,  as  much  as  truth  and  duty  will  permit. 

The  answer  of  the  Catechism  we  consider  mentions 
"  witness  bearing,"  as  an  occasion  on  which  we  are 
"especially"  to  be  cautious  of  uttering  nothing  but 
the  truth.  As  we  have  heretofore  treated  of  this  par- 
ticular, it  is  not  necessary  to  enter  far  into  the  subject 
now.  But  it  cannot  be  improper  to  remind  you,  that 
as  a  violation  of  truth  is  in  all  cases  a  heinous  sin,  so 
it  is  one  of  the  most  awful  kind,  when  speaking  under 
the  obligation  of  a  solemn  oath — To  prevaricate  then, 
is  to  make  an  abjuration  of  "the  help  of  God" — to 
renounce  all  claim  to  his  protection  and  favour.  When 
called  to  give  testimony  on  oath,  every  thing  should 
be  said  with  recollected  thought,  and  every  word  that 
is  spoken  should,  if  possible,  be  considered  before  it 
is  uttered.  No  wishes  or  inclinations  of  our  own,  no 
partiality,  favour,  or  affection  to  a  friend,  and  no  dis- 
like or  hatred  of  an  enemy — in  a  word,  no  prejudice 


244  LECTURES     ON     THE 

of  any  kind,  should  be  permitted,  so  far  as  we  can 
help  it,  to  give  its  colouring  to  what  we  say  "  in  wit- 
ness bearing."  It  is  the  tremendous  declaration  of 
the  Most  High — "  I  will  be  a  swift  witness  against 
false  swearers,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts." 


LECTURE  LV. 

What  is  forbidden  in  the  ninth  commandment  is  to 
be  the  subject  of  the  present  lecture.  "  The  ninth 
commandment,  (according  to  our  Catechism,)  forbid- 
deth  whatsoever  is  prejudicial  to  truth,  or  injurious  to 
our  own  and  our  neighbour's  good  name." 

Although  in  treating  of  the  precept  now  before  us, 
the  arrangement  adopted  has  been  to  consider  sepa- 
rately its  requisitions  and  its  prohibitions,  yet  in  speak- 
ing of  the  former,  the  latter  has  been  in  a  measure 
anticipated.  This  anticipation,  which  it  was  not  easy 
to  avoid,  is  attended  with  this  advantage,  that  of  the 
two  parts  into  which  the  answer  now  to  be  discussed 
is  divided,  namely,  the  violations  of  truth,  and  the 
injury  of  our  own  and  our  neighbour's  good  name, 
the  latter  has  received  so  much  attention,  that  a  sepa- 
rate consideration  of  it  does  not  seem  necessary.  What 
further  notice  it  may  require,  will  fall  under  some  of 
the  particulars  embraced  in  the  series  which  will  be 
laid  before  you.    In  pursuing  this  series,  1  will  speak: 

I.  Of  whatsoever  is  prejudicial  to  truth  in  courts  of 
justice.  The  awful  sin  oi perjury,  as  it  involves  the 
crime  of  prqfaneness  as  well  as  o{  falsehood,  was 
treated  of  in  our  lecture  on  the  third  commandment; 
and  it  was  also  noticed,  with  a  distinct  reference  to 
ivitJiess  bearing,  in  the  close  of  our  last  lecture. 
But  in  coiuts  of  justice,  in  our  country,  there  are  not 
only  witnesses,  but  judges,  jurors,  and  attorneys:  and 
of  these,  the  judges  as  well  as  the  jurors,  always  act 
under  the  solemnity  and  responsibility  of  an  official 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  245 

oath.  The  judge  or  magistrate,  therefore,  who  pro- 
nounces a  sentence,  or  gives  instruction  to  a  jury, 
contrary  to  what  he  knows  to  be  law  and  justice, 
violates  his  official  oath,  and  is  really  guilty  of  perju- 
ry, as  well  as  of  an  act  of  gross  injustice  to  the  person, 
property,  or  good  name  of  his  neighbourhood.  Nor 
is  he  scarcely  less  guilty,  if  he  neglects  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  prevent,  or  detect,  the  suborning  of  false 
witnesses,  or  the  false  swearing  of  witnesses  not  su- 
borned. In  like  manner,  the  juror  who  knowingly 
gives,  or  consents  to  a  false  verdict,  breaks  his  oath, 
as  well  as  incurs  the  guilt  of  doing  injustice  to  his 
neighbour.  The  attorney,  also,  who  labours  to  gain 
a  cause  which  he  knows  to  be  altogether  unjust,  or  to 
clear  a  culprit  whom  he  knows  to  be  guilty,  is  charge- 
able with  a  palpable  and  shameful  disregard  to  truth. 
I  do  not  say  that  an  attorney  may  not  lawfully  appear 
as  the  friend  and  protector  of  a  guilty  party,  to  pre- 
vent his  being  punished  beyond  his  desert.  This  is 
often  an  important  service,  and  is  what  reason,  as 
well  as  law,  will  approve.  But  it  is  no  valid  apology 
which  is  frequently  made  by  those  who  endeavour 
entirely  to  clear  the  guilty,  knowing  them  to  be  such, 
that  the  attorney  identifies  himself  with  his  client; 
and  that  as  the  client  would  doubtless,  if  he  acted  for 
himself,  endeavour  to  escape  all  penalty,  or  to  gain 
his  cause,  although  he  knew  it  to  be  unjust,  therefore 
the  attorney,  who  acts  for  him,  should  do  the  same. 
The  truth  is,  that  supposing  a  wrong-doer  to  have  be- 
come right  minded,  he  would  not  himself  seek  to  es- 
cape the  penalty  of  the  law,  or  to  pervert  it  to  the 
injury  of  his  neighbour;  and  he  who  assists  an  offen- 
der to  do  so,  is  what  the  Scripture  denominates  "a 
partaker  of  another  man's  sin."  Equally  futile  is 
the  allegation,  that  the  pleas  on  the  opposite  sides  of  a 
litigated  question  are  to  be  made  as  plausible  as  their 
advocates  severally  can  render  them,  and  that  thus 
the  exact  truth  will  be  most  likely  to  be  clearly  seen: 
for  it  is  notorious,  that  an  able  and  eloquent  advocate 
may,  and  often  does,  make  the  worse  appear  the  bet- 
ter cause,  and  that  substantial  injustice  is  the  result. 


246  LECTURES     ON     THE 

2.  The  uttering  of  known  falsehood,  with  an  in- 
tention to  deceive,  is  a  manifest  and  palpable  viola- 
tion of  the  precept  we  consider.  The  kinds  of  false- 
hood which  fall  under  this  particular,  and  the  degrees 
of  criminality  which  they  severally  involve,  are  very 
various,  A  deliberate  lie  is  more  sinful  than  one  into 
which  a  man  is  surprised  by  sudden  fear,  or  by  a 
strong  desire  to  escape  some  unwelcome  consequence 
of  speaking  the  truth;  although  in  both  instances  the 
liar  is  without  excuse.  In  like  manner,  a  malicious 
lie,  intended  to  do  injury  to  our  neighbour,  or  one 
which  from  any  cause  is  likely  to  be  followed  by  se- 
rious evils,  is  more  aggravated  than  one  which  involves 
none  of  these  consequences,  and  is  principally  inju- 
rious to  the  falsifier  himself.  There  are  some  persons 
who  consider  falsehoods  told  in  jest  as  innocent.  This 
is  by  no  means  to  be  admitted.  Truth  is  a  thing  too 
sacred  to  be  sported  with.  Of  officious  lies,  something 
was  said  in  the  last  lecture.  But  I  feel  constrained 
to  add  here,  that  physicians,  who  by  falsehood  make 
their  patients  believe  they  are  recovering,  or  likely  to 
recover,  when  they  know  that  the  sick  are  sinking  to 
the  grave,  are  chargeable  with  grievous  and  wicked 
simulation.  While  hope  is  entertained  by  the  phy- 
sician, he  may  and  ought  to  cherish  it  in  his  patient. 
But  when  he  has  no  hope,  he  acts  with  cruel  false- 
hood, if  both  the  sick  individual  and  his  relations  and 
friends  are  not,  in  a  discreet  and  tender  manner,  ap- 
prized of  the  truth.  With  a  knowledge  of  it,  the 
most  important  interests,  both  temporal  and  eternal, 
may  be  connected;  and  to  these  no  other  considera- 
tions can  be  a  counterbalance. 

Under  this  particular,  also,  I  must  warn  you,  my 
young  friends,  against  ever  indulging  in  the  fashion- 
able, but  most  unchristian  practice,  of  falsely  denying 
yourselves  to  be  at  home,  when  inquired  after  by  a 
friend  or  a  stranger.  Such  inquiry  is  a  courtesy, 
which  we  are  bound  to  reciprocate,  if  we  are  not  ac- 
tually so  engaged  as  to  forbid  it;  and  if  we  are,  a 
kind  and  frank  statement  of  the  fact,  will  give  no  of- 
fence to  a  reasonable  person;  and  it  is  better  to  offend 


SHORTER      CATECHISM. 


247 


the  unreasonable,  than  to  violate  truth  ourselves,  or 
to  teach  domestics  to  lie,  by  putting  a  falsehood  into 
their  mouths. 

It  has  been  inquired,  whether  an  individual  who 
makes  a  promise  which  he  fully  intended  to  fulfil 
when  he  made  it,  but  refuses  to  do  so,  in  consequence 
of  something  occurring  which  he  did  not  know  or  an- 
ticipate when  he  promised — whether  such  an  indivi- 
dual is  to  be  considered  as  telling  a  lie?  I  answer, 
that  when  we  do  all  in  our  power  to  fulfil  a  promise, 
but  are  prevented  by  the  providence  of  God,  or  by 
any  insurmountable  obstacles,  we  are  clearly  not  guil- 
ty of  falsehood:  for  every  promise  must  be  supposed 
to  have  been  made  subject  to  these  contingencies.  If 
however  our  best  endeavours  have  not  been  used  to 
fulfil  every  lawful  and  proper  promise,  failure  always 
involves  guilt — jnuch,  if  no  attempt  has  been  made; 
less,  if  the  attempt  was  not  sufficiently  earnest  and 
persevering.  Further — when  a  promise  has  been 
made  with  a  sincere  intention  to  perform  it,  occur- 
rences may  take  place  which  would  have  prevented 
our  promising,  if  we  had  foreseen  them  ;  and  which 
every  reasonable  person  will  admit,  should  have  pre- 
vented us  at  first,  and  ought  to  absolve  us  afterward. 
All  such  cases,  however,  ought  to  be  very  clearly 
marked.  A  conscientious  man  will  choose,  in  all  but 
extreme  cases,  to  fulfil  even  an  indiscreet  promise, 
unless  the  party  to  whom  it  has  been  made  will  con- 
sent to  release  him:  and  if  the  promise  relate  to  pro- 
perty, and  is  not  plainly  unlawful  or  impracticable  in 
itself,  the  obligation  to  fulfil  ought  to  be  considered 
as  indispensable,  unless  he  to  whom  it  was  made  will 
grant  a  free  release.  The  Psalmist  gives  it  as  a  dis- 
criminating feature  in  the  character  of  a  good  man, 
that  "  he  sweareth  to  his  hurt,  and  changeth  not." 

The  expression  of  a  purpose,  or  intention,  is  not 
binding,  if  on  reflection  we  see  reason  to  change  our 
purpose.  Yet  even  here,  the  duty  we  owe  to  our- 
selves should  render  us  cautious.  The  man  who  is 
observed  frequently  to  change  his  mind,  after  he  has 
declared  it,  although  it  be  in  regard  to  things  not  im- 


248  LECTURES    ON    THE 

portant  in  themselves,  will  acquire  a  character  for 
levity,  or  versatility,  which  will  exceedingly  diminish 
his  respectability  and  influence.  He  who  would  have 
the  greatest  weight  of  character,  must  keep  most  of 
his  intentions  to  himself,  till  he  has  the  fairest  pros- 
pect of  carrying  them  into  effect. 

3.  Forgery,  or  setting  a  false  name  to  a  writing, 
or  fabricating  the  whole  of  a  writing,  with  a  view  to 
deceive  and  defraud — is  one  of  the  grossest  viola- 
tions of  truth  that  can  be  perpetrated;  and  at  the 
same  time  it  is  a  most  nefarious  deed,  in  relation  to 
the  property  of  another.  It  breaks  two  command- 
ments, the  eighth  and  ninth,  in  one  act;  being  equal- 
ly a  theft  and  a  deliberate  lie.  Its  frequency  is  a 
lamentable  indication  of  the  prevalence  of  licentious 
principles  and  practice.  In  the  country  from  which 
we  derive  our  origin,  it  was,  till  lately,  invariably 
followed,  when  detected,  by  the  punishment  of  death; 
because  in  a  commercial  community,  scarcely  any 
other  violation  of  law  could  be  so  injurious.  Believ- 
ing, as  I  do,  that  no  crime  but  murder,  or  that  which 
involves  it,  should  be  punished  with  death,  I  have 
marked  with  pleasure  the  efforts  recently  made — I 
am  not  sure  that  they  have  as  yet  been  successful — 
to  exempt  forgery  from  the  list  of  capital  offences  in 
Britain.  Yet  I  wish  by  no  means  to  diminish  in  your 
minds  its  moral  turpitude.  It  is  certamly  one  of  the 
basest  and  blackest  transgressions  of  the  moral  law 
of  God,  that  can  be  committed;  and  the  injury  that 
it  does  to  society  is  also  of  the  most  flagrant  and  in- 
excusable kind. 

4.  Hypocrisy  is  forbidden  by  the  spirit  and  scope 
of  the  ninth  commandment.  Self-deceivers  in  regard 
to  their  spiritual  state,  are  sometimes,  both  in  Scrip- 
ture and  in  common  discourse,  called  hypocrites. 
But  of  such  we  do  not  now  speak.  We  here  refer  to 
those  who,  knowingly,  make  a  false  and  deceitful 
profession  and  show  of  religion;  who  assume  the  ap- 
pearance of  piety,  and  perhaps  pretend  to  great  zeal, 
on  purpose  to  deceive  the  world,  and  promote  their 
own  temporal  emolument;  while,  in  their  hearts,  they 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  249 

are  opposed  to  religion,  perhaps  disbelieve  and  des- 
pise it  utterly;  and  it  may  be,  indulge  secretly  in 
gross  vice.  Of  such  persons  it  may  be  said  with 
truth,  that  their  whole  life  is  one  series  of  practical 
falsehood — one  continued  lie.  Their  guilt  is  beyond 
description;  for  the  sin  they  commit  is  a  direct  affront 
to  the  heart-searching  God;  being  a  constant  practi- 
cal denial  of  his  omniscience.  It  is  as  much  as  to  say, 
that  if  they  can  deceive  man,  and  escape  his  censure, 
they  are  regardless  of  the  knowledge  and  displeasure 
of  the  Most  High.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  they 
who  are  loudest  in  the  condemnation  of  hypocrisy, 
and  are  apt  to  charge  it  on  all  who  are  strictly  and 
eminently  pious,  are  often  gross  hypocrites  them- 
selves. While  they  hate  all  religion,  and  know  that 
they  hate  it,  they  are  very  unwilling  that  this  should 
be  known;  and  resent,  as  an  unpardonable  offence, 
every  attempt  to  invest  them  with  their  true  charac- 
ter in  the  view  of  the  public. 

You  ought  also  to  be  apprized,  my  young  friends, 
that  those  are  not  free  from  a  species  of  hypocrisy, 
who  are  willing  and  desirous  to  be  thought  less  anxi- 
ous about  the  state  of  their  souls,  than  they  really 
are.  It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  persons,  espe- 
cially young  persons,  are,  for  a  length  of  time,  under 
pretty  strong  convictions  of  their  guilty  and  danger- 
ous state,  and  yet  take  much  pains  to  keep  this  from 
being  known,  or  even  suspected,  by  others.  To  avoid 
it,  practices  are  sometimes  indulged  in,  which  wound 
the  conscience  and  occasion  keen  remorse.  In  such 
a  course,  there  is  both  guilt  and  danger,  of  a  very 
fearful  kind.  I  would  be  very  far  from  advising  you 
to  proclaim  every  serious  emotion  that  you  feel;  or  at 
any  time,  or  in  any  form,  to  be  forward  and  ostenta- 
tious in  revealing  what  passes  in  your  minds,  in  re- 
ference to  your  eternal  interests.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  beware  of  seeming  to  be  unconcerned  about 
your  souls  when  you  really  are  so;  lest  you  be  left  of 
God  to  become  in  fact,  what  you  are  desirous  to  be 
thought.  Always  act  in  this  matter  as  you  feel;  and 
with  prudence  and  due  reserve,  disclose  the  slate  of 

VOL.    II. — 17 


250  LECTURESONTHE 

your  minds  to  a  pious  and  confidential  friend,  and 
especially  to  your  pastor,  whose  business  it  is  to 
watch  for  your  souls,  and  who  will  rejoice  to  direct, 
and  as  far  as  he  is  able,  assist  your  labouring  spirits. 

5.  Slandering  the  character  of  an  absent  indivi- 
dual, is  a  manifest  violation  of  the  ninth  command- 
ment. It  is  clearly  one  form  of  bearing  false  witness 
against  our  neighbour.  In  speaking,  in  my  last  lec- 
ture, on  the  duties  required  by  the  precept  before  us, 
I  endeavoured  to  enforce,  with  reference  to  this  sub- 
ject, the  great  gospel  principle,  of  doing  to  others  as 
we  would  wish  they  should  do  to  us — to  treat  the 
character  of  every  absent  individual  as  we  siiould 
desire,  and  think  it  reasonable,  that  he  should  treat 
our  own.  The  departures  from  this  rule,  which  we 
now  consider,  are  exceedingly  numerous,  and  of  very 
various  degrees  of  criminality — from  the  uttering  of 
a  wilful,  malicious,  and  unqualified  falsehood  against 
our  neighbour,  down  to  the  fault  already  noticed,  of 
keeping  silence  when  we  hear  him  misrepresented. 

As  a  fair  character  is  of  inestimable  value  to  every 
man,  he  who  blasts  or  blackens  it  by  a  deliberate, 
slanderous  falsehood,  is  guilty  of  doing  an  injury  to 
his  neighbour,  only  less  enormous  than  assassination 
and  murder.  Hence  the  pithy  lines  of  the  poet, 
known,  I  presume,  to  the  most  of  you — 

"Who  steals  my  purse,  steals  trash;  'tis  something,  nothing; 
'Twas  mine,  'tis  his;  and  has  been  slave  to  thousands. 
But  he  that  filches  from  me  my  good  name, 
Robs  me  of  that  which  not  enriches  him. 
And  makes  me  poor  indeed." 

In  holy  writ,  slandering  and  backbiting  are  placed 
among  the  basest  and  most  atrocious  crimes  that  men 
can  commit.  "  He  that  slandereih  his  neighbour  is  a 
fool,"  says  Solomon.  "  Whoso  privily  slandereth  his 
neighbour,  him  will  I  cut  otf,"  says  David,  when  pro- 
fessing before  God  the  manner  in  which  he  would 
act,  as  a  magistrate  and  a  sovereign:  and  "back- 
biters" are  classed  by  the  apostle  Paul,  in  the  first 
chapter  of  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  among  the  most 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  25 1 

abandoned  and  shameless  sinners  that  have  ever  ex- 
isted on  the  earth. 

But  there  is  another  form  of  slander,  far  more 
common  than  that  of  telling  a  deliberately  fabricated 
and  downright  falsehood,  to  the  injury  of  our  neigh- 
bour. It  consists  in  greatly  aggravating  or  magnify- 
ing a  real  fault;  or  in  giving  a  false  colouring  to  some- 
thing which,  in  reality,  was  a  trifle,  or  perhaps  no 
fault  at  all;  in  a  word,  by  traducing  an  absent  per- 
son's character  by  placing  some  action,  or  some  part 
of  his  conduct,  in  a  worse  light  by  far,  than  that  in 
which  it  would  appear,  if  fairly  and  impartially  re- 
presented. In  this  manner,  the  precept  before  us  is 
transgressed  with  a  frequency  that  is  surprising  and 
lamentable.  Indeed,  the  ways  in  which  this  com- 
mand may  be  violated,  are  more  various  than  can  be 
specified.  Sometimes  by  mere  hints  and  insinua- 
tions, that  more  is  known  than  is  told:  sometimes  by 
affecting  to  fear  that  there  is  too  much  truth  in  a  fly- 
ing report:  sometimes  by  professing  to  hope  that  such 
a  report  will  turn  out  to  be  false:  sometimes  by  ex- 
pressing a  wish,  that  there  were  no  ground  for  sus- 
picion:  sometimes  by  mentioning  a  rumour,  with  an 
injunction  not  to  spread  it:  sometimes  even  by  a  sig- 
nificant sigh,  or  shrug,  or  smile.  Be  assured,  that  in 
the  view  of  God,  the  sin  of  slander  is  committed  in 
all  such  instances,  and  in  many  of  a  like  kind,  which 
are  not,  and  indeed  caimot  be  described. 

6.  Tale  bearing  and  tattling  are  nearly  allied  to 
slander,  and  seldom  take  place  without  it.  The  Le- 
vitical  law  contained  an  express  prohibition  of  this 
evil — "Thou  shalt  not  go  up  and  down  as  a  tale 
bearer,  among  thy  people." — Lev.  xix.  16.  In  the 
book  of  Proverbs,  we  have  it  twice  distinctly  repeated, 
"  The  words  of  a  tale  bearer  are  as  wounds,  and  they 
go  down  into  the  innermost  parts  of  the  belly."  And 
again,  "  Where  no  wood  is,  there  the  fire  goeth  out; 
so  where  there  is  no  tale  bearer,  the  strife  ceaseth." 
Never  was  there  a  more  exact  description  of  an  evil, 
and  its  remedy,  than  in  these  words.  A  very  large 
part  of  all  the  strife  and  contention  that  takes  place 


252 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


among  neighbours  and  friends,  is  owing  to  tale  bear- 
ing; and  remove  the  cause,  and  the  effect  will  cease. 
Never,  my  dear  youth,  indulge  in  this  mischievous, 
but  very  common  vice.  Never  repeat  to  a  friend,  or 
a  neighbour,  what  you  hear  another  say  to  his  disad- 
vantage; unless  it  is  clearly  necessary  to  put  him  on 
his  guard  against  an  injury,  to  which  he  may  other- 
wise be  exposed.  Then  indeed  it  is  a  duty  to  warn 
him;  but  otherwise,  you  do  evil  both  to  him  who 
spoke  disrespectfully,  and  to  him  to  whom  you  report 
it.  You  occasion  painful  feelings  unnecessarily;  and 
perhaps  stir  up  strife,  which  may  produce  the  most 
lasting  mischief.  Many  harsh  words  are  uttered  has- 
tily, or  thoughtlessly,  which  the  speaker  himself  may 
afterwards  regret;  and  which  would  hurt  nobody  but 
the  speaker,  if  they  were  never  repeated.  Tale  bear- 
ers seldom  fail  to  magnify  the  evil  speaking  which 
they  report;  and  therefore  are  plainly  slanderers,  as 
well  as  otherwise  injurious. 

Tattling  is  often  productive  of  the  same  effects  as 
tale-bearing;  although  there  be  no  such  intention  in 
in  the  tattler.  Solomon  tells  us,  that  "In  the  multi- 
tude of  words  there  wanteth  not  sin;  but  he  that  re- 
straineth  his  lips  is  wise."  Talkative  people  often 
say  much,  for  no  other  reason,  as  it  would  seem,  but 
because  they  are  unquiet  while  their  tongues  are  still. 
This  character  is  always  a  contemptible  one;  and 
dignity,  as  well  as  duty,  is  concerned  in  avoiding  it. 
The  government  of  the  tongue  is  a  most  important 
point  of  prudence  and  duty,  to  which  youth  especially 
should  give  great  attention.  They  will  assuredly  find 
it  to  be  intimately  connected,  both  with  their  respec- 
tability and  their  happiness,  in  the  whole  of  their 
future  life. 

7.  Exaggeration  in  relating  facts,  is  the  last  trans- 
gression of  the  ninth  commandment,  which  I  shall 
mention.  One  of  the  historians  of  our  own  country, 
once  observed  to  me,  that  in  endeavouring  to  obtain 
correct  information,  in  regard  to  facts  and  events  in 
our  revolutionary  war,  then  recently  terminated,  it 
was  difficult,  almost  beyond  belief,  to  find  a  man, 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  253 

although  an  eye  witness  of  what  he  related,  who 
would  give  an  accurate,  unvarnished  statement,  of 
what  he  narrated.  "  I  have  been  ready,"  said  he, 
"to  say  with  David,  'all  men  are  liars.'"  He  was 
reminded  that  David  spoke  thus  "in  his  haste;"  but 
indeed,  my  young  friends,  it  is  too  true,  that  it  is  ex- 
tremely rare  to  find  a  man  whose  words,  in  narrating 
facts,  convey  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  simple 
truth.  Yet  this  is  what  a  due  regard  to  the  command 
before  us  will  lead  us  to  aim  at;  and  he  who  reaches 
the  object  of  such  an  aim,  will  at  once  perform  an 
important  duty  to  his  God  and  his  fellow  men,  and 
at  the  same  time  add  unspeakably  to  the  respectabil- 
ity and  weight  of  his  own  character.  It  was  a  high 
commendation  bestowed  on  an  eminent  man,  "  that 
he  always  stated  facts  as  if  he  was  speaking  under 
oath."  Let  it  then  be  a  distinct  object  with  you  all, 
to  acquire  the  character  indicated  by  the  proverb, 
"  his  word  is  as  good  as  his  oath." 


254  LECTUUBS    ON    THE 


LECTURE  LVI. 


We  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  tenth 
commandment,  which  is  thus  expressed — "  Thou 
shall  not  covet  thy  neighbour's  house,  thou  shalt  not 
covet  thy  neighbour's  wife,  nor  his  man-servant,  nor 
his  maid-servant,  nor  his  ox,  nor  his  ass,  nor  any 
thing  that  is  thy  neighbour's."  This  commandment 
requires  "  full  contentment  with  our  own  condition, 
with  a  right  and  charitable  frame  of  spirit  toward  our 
neighbour  and  all  that  is  his;"  and  it  forbids  "  all 
discontentment  with  our  own  estate,  envying  or  griev- 
ing at  the  good  of  our  neighbour,  and  all  inordinate 
motions  or  affections  toward  any  thing  that  is  his." 
I  You  are  aware,  I  suppose,  that  as  the  Papists  dis- 
^  pense  with  the  second  commandment,  because  it  ma- 
nifestly prohibits  their  use  of  images;  so,  to  keep  up 
the  number  ten,  they  divide  the  one  now  before  us — 
taking  the  first  two  clauses,  "  Thou  shalt  not  covet 
thy  neighbour's  house,  thou  slialt  not  covet  thy  neigh- 
bour's wife,"  for  the  ninth  commandment,  and  the 
remaining  clauses  for  the  tenth.  To  justify  this,  they 
say  that  the  first  two  clauses  of  this  precept  relate  to 
property,  ox  interest;  and  the  rest  {o  pleasure  ox gra- 
tijication.  But  besides  the  absurdity  of  such  a  distinc- 
tion, in  regard  to  one  and  the  same  sinful  emotion — 
that  of  coveting — the  thing  asserted  is  not  true  in  fact; 
for  the  ox  and  the  ass  of  our  neighbour,  to  say  no- 
thing of  his  servants,  are  as  much  parts  of  his  pro- 
perty as  his  house.  Besides,  it  is  evident,  beyond 
reasonable  controversy,  that  the  inspired  lawgiver  did 
not  intend  that  this  precept  should  be  thus  divided, 
because  the  two  first  clauses,  which  furnish  the  whole 
ground  of  the  distinction  contended  for,  are  used  inter- 
changeably by  himself,  in  two  places,  in  which  this 
precept  is  recorded.     In  Exodus,  xx.  21,  the  com- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  255 

mandment  begins  with  the  words,  "  Thou  shall  not 
covet  thy  neighbour's  house;"  but  when  Moses  re- 
cites the  decalogue  to  the  children  of  his  people,  on 
the  borders  of  the  promised  land,  (Deut.  v.  21,)  he 
introduces  the  tenth  precept  thus — "  Neither  shall 
thou  desire  thy  neighbour's  wife,"  and  then  goes  on 
with  the  other  parts,  which  chiefly  relate  to  property. 
In  truth,  this  Popish  distinction  is  so  absurd,  that  it 
is  scarcely  worthy  of  serious  confutation. 

A  point  far  more  worthy  of  attention  is,  to  ascer- 
tain why  this  commandment  was  given  at  all;  since 
the  whole  of  the  decalogue  relates,  not  merely  to  out- 
ward actions,  but  in  every  precept,  is  spiritual  in  its 
nature  and  extent,  reaching  to  "  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart;"  and  the  eighth  commandment, 
when  thus  viewed,  would  seem  to  prohibit  that  covet- 
ing of  our  neighbour's  property,  t>om  which  actual 
theft,  and  all  similar  enormities  proceed.  In  other 
words,  when  viewed  spiritually,  how  does  the  tenth 
commandment  differ  from  the  eighth?  The  learned 
and  eminent  Piclet,  one  of  the  successors  of  Calvin, 
before  the  Genevan  school  became  corrupt,  has  gone 
al  some  length  into  this  subject,  thinking,  as  I  cer- 
tainly do,  that  it  is  one  of  great  importance.  I  will 
give  you  the  substance  of  what  he  says,  on  the  in- 
quiry specified.*  In  order,  he  states,  to  set  the  matter 

*  There  is  a  real  difficulty  in  explaining  this  commandment  per- 
spicuously, from  the  fact  that  the  English  verb,  to  covet,  used  in  the 
prohibition,  does  not  convey  at  once,  the  true  meaning  of  the  precept. 
The  original  word  inn  (hamed,)  by  the  consent  of  all  the  Lexicogra- 
phers, and  by  its  manifest  and  frequent  use  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures, 
signifies  to  desire  earnestly,  lust  after,  lake  pleasure  in,  delight  in, 
covet.  This  word  is,  in  the  Septuagint,  translated  by  the  Greek  verb 
iTTiBu/uio),  (epithumeo),  which  signifies  to  desire,  long  for,  or  lust  after, 
both  in  a  good  sense  and  a  bad  one ;  for  to  lust  after  ox  against,  is 
sometimes  taken  in  a  good  sense,  as  Gal.  v.  17,  the  Spirit  "  lusteth 
against  the  flesh."  From  the  verb  i7rSv/uiu\  is  derived  the  noun  stt;- 
Bujuiu,  which  strictly  signifies  any  desire  of  (he  mind,  either  good  or 
bad;  for  both  the  verb  and  tlie  noun  have  their  origin  from  Bvy.o;  (thu- 
mos,)  the  mind.  Now  these  two  words  iriBvfxiO!  and  iTribv/Ats., — the 
former  used  sixteen  times  in  the  New  Testament,  and  the  latter  no 
less  than  thirty-eight  times — are,  in  the  common  version,  translated 
in  three  or  four  different  ways;  and  we  will  not  say  that,  in  any  in- 
stance, the  translation  is  a  bad  one ;  because  the  translators  have  ma- 
nifestly sought  to  characterize  the  mental  affection,  when  evil,  by 


256  LECTURES     ON     THE 

in  its  proper  light,  we  should  observe,  1.  That  in  re- 
lation to  every  action,  there  is  the  external  act,  the 
resolution  on  which  it  depends,  and  the  inclination 

some  single  term,  denoting  a  had  affection,  which  could  scarcely  have 
been  done,  if  they  had  kept,  as  the  original  docs,  to  the  use  of  two 
terms  only.  The  verb  i7riiujuia>,  is  five  times  translated  to  desire;  five 
or  six  times  to  lust  or  to  lust  after;  not  more  than  twice,  or  thrice 
to  covet;  and  once  it  is  translated  lie  would  fain; — "he  would  fain 
(iTriSu^uii,  epithumei,)  have  filled  his  belly  with  the  husks  which  the 
swine  did  eat."  The  noun  iriBu/iAia.,  is  between  thirty  and  forty  times 
translated  lust;  three  times  desire;  and  three  times  concupiscence ; 
and  not  in  a  single  instance  is  it  translated  covelousness.  The  origi- 
nal word  for  covetousness,  which  is  pretty  frequently  used,  is  always 
TKicvi^m  (pleonexia);  and  there  is  one  remarkable  text  which  shows 
clearly,  that  iTrSu/mict  and  ^Asoi'£|;:t,  do  not-,  at  least  always,  denote 
the  same,  but  ditferent  affections  of  the  mind.  It  is  Colos.  iii.  5, 
"  Mortify  therefore  your  members  which  are  upon  the  earth,  fornica- 
tion, uncleanness,  inordinate  affections,  evil  concupiscence  {ittiBu/aislv 
nAKnv  epithumian  kakeen),  and  covetousness,  (t«v  ?rhiovi^ia.v  teen  pleo- 
nexian),  which  is  idolatry."  Here  iTriBv/unx,  and  ■^\icvi^in  are  placed 
together  as  distinct  items  in  the  enumeration  of  vices:  there  is  there- 
fore a  difference  in  their  meaning.  To  translate  i7n6v^utAv  x.a.iim,  evil 
concupiscence,  must  be  regarded  as  a  pleonasm,  and  perhaps  was  in- 
tended to  be  so,  because  concupiscence,  by  itself,  signifies  an  evil 
desire ;  the  real  meaning  of  in-tbufAia.  Kmoi  is  evil  desire,  generally,  in 
regard  to  any  object  whatever;  and  thus  it  is  distinct  from  Trkiovi^ia, 
covelousness,  which  is  specific,  relating  only  to  an  unlawful  desire  of 
property. 

We  may  now  ascertain  what  is  the  true  import  of  the  verb  render- 
ed covet,  in  the  tenth  commandment.  As  we  have  shown  above,  it 
primarily  denotes,  both  in  Hebrew  and  Greek,  to  desire,  or  earnestly 
to  desire,  and  nothing  more.  But  the  desires  of  the  soul,  even  earnest 
desires,  are  not  necessarily  sinful.  The  desires  of  the  human  soul 
are  its  moving  springs;  without  them,  man  would  make  no  improve- 
ment, if  indeed  he  could  even  continue  his  existence.  It  is  not  un- 
lawful for  me  even  to  desire  the  property  of  my  neighbour,  provided 
he  is  willing  to  sell  it,  and  I  am  willing  to  give  him  what  he  asks 
for  it.  Without  something  of  this  kind,  no  fair  bargain  is  ever 
made.  Now,  as  the  tenth  commandment  is  expressed  in  the  prohi- 
bitory  form,  it  must  relate  to  an  evil  desire.  To  indulge  an  evil 
desire  towards  any  thing  that  belongs  to  my  neighbour,  whether 
it  relate  to  his  house,  his  wife,  his  servants,  his  cattle — this  it  is  to 
covet  them,  in  the  sense  in  which  this  word  must  be  taken  in  this 
commandment.  The  evil  desire,  in  order  to  be  sinful,  need  not  proceed 
to  the  length  that  it  did  in  the  case  of  Ahab,  in  relation  to  Naboth's 
vineyard;  or  in  that  of  Herod,  in  regard  to  the  wife  of  his  brother 
Philip.  Nay,  such  sins  as  theirs,  are  not  those  which  are  contem- 
plated in  this  commandment.  It  not  only  does  not  contemplate  a 
wicked  act,  but  it  does  not  refer  to  a  formed  purpose,  resolution,  or 
determination  to  act  wickedly.  It  specifically  refers  to  a  sin  short 
of  all  these.     Its  .specific  prohibition  is  of  those  desires,  feelings,  mo- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  257 

or  disposition  of  the  mind,  which  precedes  the  reso- 
lution or  determination  to  act.  Now  God,  in  the 
other  commandments,  forbids  bad  actions,  and  the 
resohitions,  on  which  they  depend,  but  in  the  tenth 
commandment  he  condemns  the  very  inclinations, 
which  precede  bad  resolutions.  2.  We  should  further 
consider,  that  there  are  three  sorts  of  inclinations,  or 
thoughts,  which  precede  the  resolution  to  sin.  There 
are  thoughts,  which  as  soon  as  they  occur  to  our 
minds,  are  rejected  with  horror,  so  that  they  make  no 
abiding  impression  on  the  soul.  TTie  mere  occurrence 
of  these  thoughts  is  not  sinful.  But  there  are  others 
which  make  a  longer  stay  in  the  soul,  and  which 
afford  it  some  degree  of  pleasure,  although  in  the  end 
they  are  rejected.  Now  here  are  the  inclinations, 
or  feelings,  or  emotions,  which  the  law  of  God  con- 
demns in  this  commandment.  There  are  still  others, 
which,  as  it  were,  take  up  their  abode  in  the  soul, 
and  obtain  the  full  consent  and  approbation  of  the 
will;  and  these  are  the  thoughts  which  the  divine  law 
condenms  in  the  other  commandments. 

We  ought  not  to  doubt  that  the  very  inclinations, 
or  motions  of  the  mind  towards  evil,  of  which  we 
have  spoken,  are  sinful,  since  the  law  of  God,  in  this 
commandment,  condemns  them.  If  we  might  covet 
(that  is,  have  lascivious  inclinations  towards)  our 
neighbour's  wife,  without  criminality,  although  the 
law  says,  "thou  shall  not  covet,"  we  might  also 
have  murderous  inclinations  without  sin,  which  will 
scarcely  be  denied  to  be  a  violation  of  the  law,  which 
says,  "  thou  shalt  not  kill."  The  Scripture  says  ex- 
pressly, "Cursed  is  every  one  who  continueth  not  in 

iions,  or  dispositions  toward  evil,  which  are  so  resisted  as  not  to  pro- 
duce even  a  real  purpose,  or  a  distinct  determination  to  commit  a 
wicked  act,  and  yet  are  in  their  very  nature  sinful — abhorrent  to  that 
God,  who  searches  the  heart,  and  "  who  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  be- 
hold evil."  It  is  in  this  view  of  the  tenth  commandment — the  only 
just  one,  it  is  verily  believed — that  the  discussion  in  the  lecture  is 
conducted.  The  subject  could  not  there  be  so  well  treated  in  a  criti- 
cal way,  as  in  a  note ;  and  this  note  has  therefore  been  added.  The 
verbal  criticism  it  contains  seemed  necessary.  It  may  be  useful  to 
some  of  our  readers,  and  can  do  injury  to  no  one. 


258 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


all  things  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them." 
But  "  Thou  shalt  not  covet,"  is  one  of  the  things 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law.  It  follows  therefore, 
that  the  man  who  violates  this  commandment  is  sub- 
ject to  a  curse,  and  consequently  that  he  sins.  St. 
Paul,  moreover,  in  the  vii.  chap,  of  his  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  more  than  once,  calls  coveting  a  sin.  It  is 
objected,  that  in  the  first  verse  of  the  following  chap- 
ter he  says,  "There  is  therefore  now  no  condemna- 
tion to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus  .^"  I  answer, 
that  it  is  true,  nevertheless,  that  there  is  in  those  of 
whom  this  is  said,  a  subject  of  condemnation;  but 
God  pardons  their  sin  for  his  Son's  sake.  Some  also 
object  the  passage  of  St.  James,  who  says,  "  when 
lust  hath  conceived  it  bringeth  forth  sin,"  from  which 
they  infer,  that  lust  itself  is  not  a  sin.  I  reply,  that 
it  only  follows  that  lust  is  a  sin  distinct  from  that 
which  it  brings  forth;  and  as  a  mother  is  always  of 
the  same  nature  with  her  child,  so  nothing  hinders, 
that  lust  should  be  a  sin,  as  well  as  that  its  fruit 
should  be  one.  Since,  indeed,  every  thing  begets  its 
like,  we  have  much  reason  to  conclude  that  lust  is  a 
sin,  inasmuch  as  it  conceives  and  brings  forth  sin.  It 
is  clear  that  by  the  sin  which  coveting  brings  forth, 
we  are  to  understand  those  wicked  works  which  pro- 
ceed from  this  source;  and  that  it  is  the  design  of  the 
apostle  to  show  in  a  few  words,  the  progress  of  ini- 
quity. 

It  has  been  said,  that  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  the 
holiest  of  men,  to  prevent  the  motions  of  covetous- 
ness,  and  therefore  that  covetousness  is  not  a  sin.  I 
answer,  1.  That  those  who  maintain  that  covetous- 
ness is  not  a  sin  in  believers,  because  they  have  not 
power  to  avoid  it,  cannot  deny  that  it  is  still  far  less 
in  the  power  o(  unbelievers  to  avoid  it.  2.  That  the 
reason  alleged  in  the  objection,  only  proves  that  the 
holiest  of  men  are  not  perfectly  renewed  in  the  pre- 
sent life,  and  therefore  that  they  still  sin;  but  not  that 
covetousness  is  not  a  sin.  3.  If  the  objection  were 
well  founded,  we  might,  for  the  same  reason  say,  that 
a  man  who,  by  long  practice,  had  contracted  an  invete- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  259 

rate  habitude  of  committing  a  particular  crime,  would 
thenceforward  not  sin  at  all  in  committing  it. 

Thus  you  perceive,  my  dear  youth,  that  the  doc- 
trine of  the  sound  and  eminent  theologian  I  have  quo- 
ted, is,  that  all  those  evil  propensities,  inclinations,  dis- 
positions, thoughts  and  desires,  which  exist,  or  spring 
up  in  the  mind,  but  which  meet  with  so  much  resist- 
ance from  better  principles,  that  they  do  not  result  in 
actual  choice,  or  efl'ective  resolution  to  do  evil — that 
these  are  the  precise  object  of  prohibition  in  this  tenth 
commandment;  making  it  to  differ  from,  and  constitu- 
ting the  whole  difference  between,  what  is  forbidden 
in  this  commandment,  and  in  the  other  precepts  of  the 
decalogue.     On  this  account,  I  have  thought  it  right 
to  lay  before  you  so  full  an  explanation  of  the  sub- 
I  ject.     I  confess  I  had  also  another  reason.     I  have 
I  made  it  a  point  in  all  these  lectures,  to  endeavour  to 
I  guard  you  specially  against  the  errors  and  false  prin- 
\  ciples  which  are  current,  or  in  danger  of  becoming 
i  popular,  in  the  day  in  which  we  live.   Now  we  have 
f  had   a  new  theory  on  '•  the  nature   of  sin,"  lately 
I  broached  in  this  country,  which  teaches  that,  "sin, 
\  in  every  form  and  instance,  is  reducible  to  the  act  of 
\  a  moral  agent,  in  which  he  violates  a  known  rule  of 
;  duty;"  or  in  another  form  of  expressing  it,  that  "there 
i  can  be  no  sin  but  what  consists  in  voluntary  action;" 
•  or  still  in  another  form,  that  "  all  sin  consists  in  man's 
I  own  act  of  choice."  Now  if  this  theory  be  true,  there 
was,  it  seems  to  me,  no  necessity  whatever  for  the 
tenth  commandment;  not  at  least,  if  the  exposition 
given  of  its  real  and  exclusive  meaning  by  Pictet,  and 
by  all  other   sound   and  orthodox  divines,  be  just. 
They  say  it  relates  only  to  those  sins  which  never 
reach  to  a  real  choice  of  the  will,  or  an  effective  reso- 
lution to  do  evil.     With  this  our  Catechism,  you  will 
observe,  exactly  corresponds,  declaring  that  it  forbids 
"  all  inordinate  motions  or  affections  towards  any 
thing  that  is  our  neighbour's."     But  the  new  theory 
says,  there  are  no  such  sins — that  there  is  not,  and 
cannot  be,  any  sin,  antecedent  to  "  the  act  of  a  moral 
agent — to  voluntary  action — to  a  man's  own  act  of 


260  LECTURES      ON     THE 

choice."  Alas!  and  what  then  did  the  Apostle  Paul 
mean  by  "  the  law  in  his  members,  warring  against 
the  law  of  his  mind?"  What  in  saying,  "when  I 
would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  me?"  What,  in 
a  word,  wiien  he  wrote  the  whole  latter  part  of  the 
vii.  chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the  Romans?  which  ex- 
torted from  him  the  pathetic  exclamation  of  the  24th 
verse,  "  0  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver 
me  from  the  body  of  this  death?"  The  apostle  him- 
self, in  the  7th  and  8th  verses,  and  a  few  that  follow 
them,  explains  the  true  import  of  the  remarkable  pas- 
sage of  Scripture  which  closes  this  chapter  of  his  epis- 
tle. "  Nay,"  says  he,  "  I  had  not  known  sin  but  by 
the  law;  for  I  had  not  known  lust,  except  the  law 
had  said,  thou  shalt  not  covet.  But  sin.  taking  occa- 
sion by  the  commandment,  wrought  in  me  all  man- 
ner of  concupiscence."  Here  the  original  words, 
rendered  in  our  translation  lust,  covet,  and  concupi- 
sce7ice,  nre  all  the  same;  except  that  one  is  a  verb, 
from  which  the  two  which  are  nouns  are  derived:  so 
that  the  literal — I  do  not  say  the  better  rendering  of 
the  passage — would  be,  "  I  had  not  known  coveting, 
except  the  law  had  said  thou  shalt  not  covet.  But 
sin,  taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  wrought 
in  me  all  manner  of  coveting."  Read,  at  your  leisure, 
the  excellent  commentary  of  Scott  on  this  passage.  I 
have  used  it  to  show  what  the  apostle  understands 
by  coveting,  which  does  not  so  fully  appear  in  the 
common  translation;  and  especially  to  show  that  it 
was  under  the  influence  of  the  new  light,  let  in  on 
his  mind  by  the  regenerating  grace  of  God,  that  he 
came  to  be  sensible  of  those  evil  thoughts,  propensi- 
ties, desires,  and  etnotions  called  coveting,  which  he 
had  never  noticed  in  his  unconverted  state;  but 
which  he  now  clearly  perceived,  and  which  produced 
the  sore  conflict  that  he  afterwards  describes  and  be- 
wails. These  inclinations  and  tendencies  to  a  viola- 
tion of  the  divine  law,  were  all  sinful,  although  he 
did  not  deliberately  approve  of  one  of  them;  nay,  al- 
though his  will  and  choice  resisted  them  continually, 
so  that  he  could  say,  "  1  delight  in  the  law  of  God 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  26 1 

after  the  inner  man."  Yes,  my  young  friends,  let 
false  metaphysics  teach  as  they  may,  the  exercised 
practical  Christian  has  his  greatest  trial,  as  the  apos- 
tle had,  in  contending  against  those  corrupt  propensi- 
ties and  workings  of  his  partially  sanctified  heart,  in 
which  the  violations  of  this  tenth  commandment  es- 
sentially consist;  but  which,  by  the  grace  of  God,  do 
not,  as  a  habit,  so  prevail  as  to  obtain  the  choice  of 
his  will  to  sin,  or  an  effective  resolution  to  transgress. 
When  they,  occasionally,  reach  to  this  awful  extent, 
it  is  only  by  deep  and  sore  repentance,  and  a  special 
application  to  the  blood  of  cleansing,  that  he  gets 
back  to  his  better  state.  Therefore,  "  beware  lest  any 
man  spoil  you  through  philosopliy  and  vain  deceit, 
after  the  tradition  of  men,  after  the  rudiments  of  the 
world,  and  not  after  Christ." 

The  large  and  particular  explanation  which  has 
been  given  of  the  spirit  and  design  of  the  tenth  com- 
mandment, will  prevent  the  necessity  of  as  much  de- 
tail as  would  otherwise  have  been  proper,  in  consid- 
ering the  requirements  and  prohibitions  specified  in 
our  Catechism.  Of  the  prohibitions  especially,  so 
much  lias  already  been  said,  that  we  shall  not  go  over 
them  in  order,  but  only  add  a  few  further  remarks 
respecting  them,  in  stating  the  duties  of  which  the 
sins  forbidden  are  the  violation. 

1.  The  tenth  commandment  requires  "full  content- 
ment with  our  own  condition."  It  was,  no  doubt,  a 
high  and  rare  attainment  which  the  apostle  Paul  had 
made,  when  he  said,  (Phil.  iv.  11,)  "  I  have  learned  in 
whatsoever  state  I  am  therewith  to  be  content."  Yet 
at  this  attainment  we  are  constantly  to  aim,  and  by 
the  aids  of  divine  grace,  in  the  use  of  the  proper 
means,  we  shall  make  advances  toward  it;  and  at 
length,  perhaps,  be  enabled  to  adopt  the  language  of 
the  apostle,  as  descriptive  of  the  prevalent  state  or 
habit  of  our  minds ;  which  indeed  is  all  that  he  could 
have  intended  by  it,  for  doubtless  in  this,  as  in  other 
graces,  he  would  have  been  ready  to  say,  "not  as 
though  I  had  already  attained,  either  were  already 
perfect." 


262 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


There  are  several  considerations,  which,  in  the  vari- 
ous situations  or  conditions  of  Hfe  in  which  we  may 
be  placed  by  the  providence  of  God,  will,  if  duly  at- 
tended to,  contribute  greatly  to  render  us  contented — 
that  is,  willing,  and  on  the  whole  choosing,  to  remain 
in  the  circumstances  in  which  God  has  placed  us,  till 
he  shall  please  to  order,  or  make  way  for  a  change. 
The  people  of  God  may  sometimes  suffer,  as  their 
Saviour  did,  so  severely,  that  their  very  nature  may 
shudder  and  revolt;  and  they  may  earnestly  pray  that, 
if  it  be  consistent  with  the  divine  will,  the  cup  of  an- 
guish or  afl^iction  may  pass  from  them;  and  yet  they 
may  and  ought  to  say,  with  their  Saviour,  "not  my 
will  but  thine  be  done." 

Prosperity  is  often,  but  very  erroneously,  thought 
to  be  most  favourable  to  contentment.  The  experi- 
ence of  the  world  in  all  ages  demonstrates,  that  am- 
bitious and  covetous  desires  generally  increase,  in  pro- 
portion as  they  are  gratified.  In  no  human  bosoms 
are  anxiety  and  fear,  in  regard  to  the  keeping  of  what 
has  been  acquired,  and  an  eager  grasping  after  some- 
thing more,  so  restless  and  tormenting,  as  in  those  of 
the  wealthy,  the  powerful,  and  the  celebrated.  It  is 
therefore  peculiarly  incumbent  on  those  who  are  in 
what  is  called  a  prosperous  state,  often  and  most  seri- 
ously to  consider,  how  vain  and  transitory  are  all 
earthly  possessions  and  distinctions.  Let  them  reflect 
that  in  the  eye  of  God  they  are  of  no  account;  that 
in  the  divine  estimation,  a  Lazarus  possesses  infinitely 
a  better  character  than  the  luxurious  worldling,  who 
fares  sumptuously  every  day.  Let  them  labour  there- 
fore to  restrain  every  craving  desire;  to  use  the  world 
as  not  abusing  it;  to  feel  the  responsibility  which  they 
hold  to  God  as  his  stewards,  for  the  proper  use  of  all 
they  possess.  Let  them  be  sensible  that  he  has  a 
right  to  take  it  from  them,  as  he  has  done  from  many 
of  their  fellows,  even  before  their  death;  and  that  by 
death  they  must  be  shortly  and  finally  separated  from 
it  all:  and  let  them  be  led  by  the  whole  view  of  their 
state,  to  choose  God  as  their  soul  satisfying  portion, 
saying  with  the  royal  Psalmist,  "The  Lord  is  the 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  263 

portion  of  mine  inheritance  and  my  cup — whom  have 
I  in  heaven  but  thee,  and  there  is  none  npon  earth 
that  I  desire  beside  thee.  My  flesh  and  my  heart 
faiieth;  but  God  is  the  strength  of  my  heart,  and  my 
portion  for  ever." 

It  is  admitted  by  all,  that  to  maintain  "full  con- 
tentment" is  a  difficult  duty,  in  times  of  severe  trial 
or  great  affliction.  The  proper  extent  and  import  of 
the  duty  at  such  times,  have  already  been  briefly 
indicated.  Let  me  now  lay  before  you  some  of  the 
considerations,  which  are  calculated  to  reconcile  an 
afiiicted  Christian  to  his  allotment.  First  of  all,  let 
him  consider  that  murmuring  and  repining,  under 
affliction,  is  both  sinful  and  unwise — Sinful,  because 
it  is  a  rebellion  against  God,  whose  chastening  hand, 
be  the  instrument  what  it  may,  is  laid  upon  him — 
Unwise,  because  the  affliction  itself  is  greatly  aggra- 
vated by  all  restiveness  and  impatience  under  it; 
while  it  is  half  annihilated  by  humble,  quiet,  and  sub- 
missive resignation  to  the  divine  will. 

Let  the  suffering  saint  further  consider,  that  afflic- 
tion is  so  far  from  being,  as  he  is  sometimes  tempted 
to  think,  an  indication  of  the  angry  rebuke  of  his  hea- 
venly Father,  that  it  is  expressly  declared  in  the  ora- 
cles of  unerring  truth,  that  "  whom  the  Lord  loveth 
he  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  every  son  whom  he 
receiveth;"  so  that  "  if  we  are  without  chastisement, 
whereof  all  are  partakers,  then  are  we  bastards  and 
not  sons;"  nay,  that  it  is  by  affliction,  that  our  hea- 
venly inheritance  itself  is  rendered  more  rich  and 
valuable.  The  infallible  word  declares,  "that  these 
light  afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a  moment,  work 
out  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory.''  In  view  of  these  precious  truths,  the  peo- 
ple of  God  have  often,  not  only  been  contented  in 
affliction,  but  thankful  for  it;  have  not  merely  for- 
borne to  murmur,  but  have  "joyed  in  tribulation." 

Is  the  believer,  then,  suffering  under  bodily  afflic- 
tions? Let  him  ever  remember,  that  they  are  not  only 
consistent  with  love,  but  an  expression  of  it;  that  the 
rod  which  chastens  him  is  in  a  father's  handj  that  his 


264  LECTURES     ON     THE 

sufferings  are  "  for  his  profit,  that  he  may  be  a  parta- 
ker of  the  hoUness"  of  Him  who  inflicts  them;  that 
the  period  of  suffering  will  soon  be  over;  and  that 
ahhough  "no  chastening  for  the  present  seemetii  to 
be  joyous  but  grievous,  nevertheless,  afterwards  it 
yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness,  unto 
them  that  are  exercised  tliereby."  Is  the  Christian 
called  to  mourn  the  loss  of  near  and  dear  relatives  or 
friends?  Let  him  endeavour  to  turn  that  current  of 
affection  which  used  to  flow  out,  and  perhaps  unduly, 
toward  a  creature  object,  on  God  the  Creator,  where 
it  can  never  be  either  excessive  or  disappointed.  Let 
him  recollect  that  he  has  a  sympathizing  covenant 
Saviour,  who  in  the  days  of  his  flesh  wept  at  the 
grave  of  a  friend;  a  Saviour  who  sustains  to  him 
every  dear  and  amiable  relation,  and  who  is  "the 
same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever."  Does  the 
disciple  of  Christ  suffer  contumely  and  reproach?  Let 
him  recollect  how  much  of  these  his  Saviour  endured 
for  him;  and  that  the  apostles  departed  from  the 
Jewish  council,  where  they  had  not  only  been  re- 
proached, but  beaten,  "rejoicing  that  they  were 
counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  the  name"  of 
their  Lord.  Let  him  call  to  mind  the  host  of  mar- 
tyrs, who  have  gone  triumphing,  through  crowds  of 
scorners  and  revilers,  to  the  scaffold  or  the  stake. 
Or  are  offences  laid  to  his  charge,  of  which  he  knows 
that  he  is  innocent,  and  which  his  very  soul  abhors? 
Let  him  recollect  that  he  has  a  promise  which  will 
certainly  be  fulfilled — perhaps  in  this  world,  and  cer- 
tainly in  the  judgment  of  the  great  day — that  God 
"will  bring  forth  his  righteousness  as  the  light,  and  his 
judgment  as  the  noon  day."  Is  it  the  lot  of  the  pious, 
as  we  know  that  it  often  is,  to  suffer  poverty  and 
want?  Let  them  call  to  mind  the  words  of  their 
Lord — "  How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God,"  and  recollect,  that  their 
hope  of  an  admission  into  that  kingdom  might  not 
have  been  possessed,  if  poverty  had  not  been  their 
lot.  Let  them  consider,  that  though  they  be  poor  in 
this  world,  yet  they  may  be  "  rich  in  faith,"  as  well 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  265 

as  "heirs  of  the  kingdom."  Is  it  asked,  can  a  child  of 
God  be  content,  or  ought  he  to  be  content,  under  di- 
vine desertion,  or  in  the  absence  of  a  felt  sense  of  the 
love  of  God?  Certainly  he  ought  to  feel  deeply  the 
privation  of  that  which  is  to  him  dearer  than  life  itself, 
and  earnestly  to  pray  with  the  Psalmist — "Cast  me 
not  away  from  thy  presence,  and  take  not  thy  Holy 
Spirit  from  me:  Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  sal- 
vation, and  uphold  me  with  thy  free  Spirit."  But  in 
the  mean  time,  he  is  to  be  very  cautious,  not  to 
quarrel  with  his  Maker  for  withdrawing  th§  light  of 
his  countenance;  but  to  remember,  and  endeavour  to 
obey  the  gracious  direction,  left  for  his  support  in  the 
very  situation  in  which  he  now  finds  himself  "  Who 
is  among  you  that  feareth  the  Lord  and  obeyeth  the 
voice  of  liis  servant;  that  walketh  in  darkness  and 
hath  no  light;  let  him  trust  in  tlie  name  of  the  Lord, 
and  stay  upon  his  God." 

2.  We  are  required  by  this  commandment  to  culti- 
vate "  a  right  and  charitable  frame  of  spirit  toward 
our  neighbour,  and  all  that  is  his."  The  duty  here 
enjoined  is  the  same  which  our  Saviour  taught,  as 
comprising  the  whole  of  the  moral  law  of  God,  in  re- 
lation to  our  fellow  men — "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bour as  thyself"  Agreeably  to  this,  is  the  teaching 
also  of  the  apostle  Paul,  (Rom.  xiii.  10,)  "  Love  work- 
eth  no  ill  to  his  neighbour;  therefore  love  is  the  ful- 
filling of  the  law:"  and  in  his  extended  and  beautiful 
description  of  love,  or  charity,  (1  Cor.  xiii.  4 — 7,) 
he  thus  dilates  on  the  exercise  of  this  divine  prin- 
ciple, as  it  has  mankind  in  general  for  its  object — 
"Charity  sufFereth  long  and  is  kind;  charity  envieth 
not;  charity  vaunteth  not  itself;  is  not  puffed  up; 
doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly;  seeketh  not  her 
own;  is  not  easily  provoked;  thinketh  no  evil;  re- 
joiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth; 
beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth  all 
things,  endureth  all  things."  He  in  whose  bosom 
this  holy  principle  has  due  influence,  will  never 
"envy  or  grieve  at  the  good  of  his  neighbour,"  but 
will  carefully  resist,  and  endeavour  utterly  to  extin- 

VOL.  II. — 18 


266  LECTURES    ON    THE 

guish,  "all  inordinate  motions  or  affections  toward 
any  thing  that  is  his."  He  will  cherish  such  a  spirit 
of  Christian  benevolence,  as  will  habitually  "sway 
and  determine  him  to  rejoice  in  the  welfare  of  his 
neighbour,  both  as  to  his  spiritual  and  temporal  con- 
cerns.*' When  he  observes  the  superior  and  shining 
gifts  and  graces,  and  large  attainments  of  eminent 
Christians,  he  will  be  humbled  under  a  sense  of  his 
own  defects  and  short  comings,  and  rejoice  in  the 
honour  that  is  brought  to  God,  by  the  riches  of  his 
grace,  bestowed  on  these  his  honoured  servants — re- 
joice to  see  what  divine  power  can  effect,  on  crea- 
tures naturally  and  totally  depraved — rejoice  to  see 
some  of  his  fellow  men,  by  the  extraordinary  natural 
endowments  bestowed  on  them  by  their  Creator,  and 
by  his  grace  consecrated  to  his  service,  approximat- 
ing the  rank  and  performing  the  work  of  angelic  na- 
tures. When  he  observes  those  whose  circumstances 
or  condition  in  the  world  appear  to  be  better  and 
more  eligible  than  his  own,  he  will  recollect  that  his 
lot  in  life,  as  well  as  that  of  his  neighbour,  has  been 
assigned  by  God;  that  great  possessions  are  not  al- 
ways an  indication  of  the  Divine  favour;  "that  if  we 
enjoy  communion  with  God,  it  is  infinitely  preferable 
to  all  outward  prosperity  without  it;"  and  that  it 
may  be,  that  he  has  more  of  this  best  and  highest 
blessing  than  he  would  have  had,  if  the  possessions 
of  this  world  had  been  more  largely  bestowed  upon 
him. 

In  concluding  this  lecture,  let  me  remark  to  you, 
my  young  friends,  that  the  view  1  have  endeavoured 
to  give  you  of  it,  is  calculated  to  direct  your  atten- 
tion, in  an  especial  manner,  to  the  origin  and  foun- 
tain of  all  sin,  in  the  native  and  deep  depravity  of 
the  human  heart.  Unsanctified  sinners  are  often  con- 
vinced of  their  guilt,  in  particular  acts  of  wickedness; 
and  sometimes  feel  keen  remorse  of  conscience,  when 
such  acts  have  been  those  of  enormous  and  reproach- 
ful transgression.  But  they  scarcely  go  further  than 
this.  They  seem  to  think  that  if  particular  sins  could 
be  blotted  out,  they  should  have  little,  or  no  cause  for 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  267 

self-condemnation.  It  is  far  otherwise  with  one  who 
has  been  enlightened,  renewed,  and  sanctified,  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  He  traces  all  particular  acts  of  sin  to 
a  corrupted  nature,  and  sees  in  them  only  so  many 
streams,  from  one  and  the  same  deeply  polluted  foun- 
tain. Thus  we  find  that  David's  awful  transgres- 
sion, in  the  matter  of  Uriah,  was  traced  by  him  to 
the  original  corruption  of  his  nature: — "Behold,  I 
was  shapen  in  iniquity;  and  in  sin  did  my  mother 
conceive  me."  And  his  prayer  was — "  Create  in 
me  a  clean  heart,  0  God;  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  me."  Here  is  the  great  distinction  between 
all  sanctified,  and  all  unsanctified  men.  The  former 
know,  by  much  sore  experience,  the  plague-sore  of 
their  own  hearts;  the  latter  never  do — their  appre- 
hensions of  their  inbred  corruption  are  very  slight,  if 
they  exist  at  all.  I  verily  believe  that  the  force  of 
this  tenth  commandment,  in  its  real  spirit  and  inten- 
tion, is  never  felt,  except  by  those  v/ho  are  renewed 
in  the  temper  of  their  mind.  But  they  clearly  per- 
ceive its  import,  and  feel  its  power.  They  see  that 
it  condemns  the  very  workings  of  that  native  cor- 
ruption, that  indwelling  sin,  of  which  they  are  most 
painfully  conscious.  The  transgressions  of  this  com- 
mandment give  them  more  uneasiness,  and  more  sore 
and  constant  conflicts,  than  those  of  all  the  other  pre- 
cepts of  the  decalogue  put  together;  or,  I  should  ra- 
ther say,  they  see  that  all  transgressions  of  the  other 
commandments  have  their  root  and  spring,  from  the 
motions  of  those  vile  affections  or  desires,  which  are 
■directly  condemned  by  this  precept.  Be  not  content, 
:  therefore,  with  the  view  of  sin,  which  is  confined  to 
\  individual  acts.  Look  deeper,  and  see  the  source  of 
■  all,  in  the  abominations  of  your  hearts.  See  that  you 
must  be  changed  there,  or  be  for  ever  miserable.  In 
a  word,  learn  the  necessity  of  being  cleansed  in  the 
blood,  clothed  with  the  righteousness,  and  transform- 
ed by  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  in  order  to  your  being  ad- 
mitted to  heaven,  or  qualified  to  be  happy  there. 
Amen. 


268 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


LECTURE  LVII. 


After  considering  and  explaining  the  various  duties 
enjoined  in  the  Decalogue,  or  the  summary  of  the 
moral  law  contained  in  the  ten  commandments,  it  is 
with  peculiar  propriety  that  the  question  is  imme- 
diately asked  in  our  Catechism — "Is  any  man  able 
perfectly  to  keep  the  commandments  of  God?"  The 
answer  you  are  aware  is — "  No  mere  man,  since  the 
fall,  is  able  in  this  life,  perfectly  to  keep  the  com- 
mandments of  God,  but  doth  daily  break  them,  in 
thought,  word  and  deed." 

That  admirable  discrimination,  united  with  concise- 
ness and  perspicuity,  which  characterises  the  whole 
of  our  Shorter  Catechism,  is  strikingly  visible  in  the 
answer  before  us. 

1.  The  inability  to  obey  the  law  of  God,  of  which 
the  answer  speaks,  is  predicated  or  affirmed,  only  of 
every  mere  man,  among  the  descendants  of  Adam. 
Our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  was  truly  man, 
and  descended,  according  to  the  flesh,  from  the  primi- 
tive parents  of  the  human  family:  and  he  did,  "  in 
this  life,"  that  is,  through  the  whole  of  his  abode  on 
earth,  perfectly  keep  the  commandments  of  God.  Be- 
ing "  conceived  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
the  womb  of  the  virgin  Mary,"  he  was  not,  like  every 
other  descendant  of  the  fallen  progenitors  of  our  race, 
"conceived  in  sin  and  shapen  in  iniquity."  He  had 
no  taint  of  native  depravity;  and  through  the  whole 
of  his  life  on  earth,  he  did,  in  thought,  word  and  deed 
perfectly  obey  the  law  of  God.  Having  been  "  made 
under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the 
law,"  if  there  had  been  the  least  moral  stain  of  his 
nature,  or  the  least  defect  in  his  obedience,  he  could 
not  have  been  "  made  of  God  unto  us  righteousness." 
But  we  are  expressly  told  that  "  he  did  no  sin,  neither 


SHORTER    CATECHISM, 


269 


was  guile  found  in  his  mouth,"  and  that  "  such  a  high 
priest  became  us,  who  is  holy,  harmless,  undefiled, 
and  separate  from  sinners."  Such  then  was  Jesus 
Clirist  as  man;  but  you  know  that  he  was  not  a  mere 
man.  While  he  was  truly  man,  he  was  also  truly 
God — "  God  and  man,  in  two  distinct  natures,  and 
one  person  for  ever;"  as  your  Catechism  elsewhere 
teaches,  and  we  have  had  occasion  to  demonstrate 
from  the  Scriptures  of  truth.  Not  being,  therefore,  a 
mere  man,  his  having  perfectly  kept  the  command- 
ments of  God,  does  not  invalidate  the  assertion  that 
all  mere  men  are  transgressors  of  those  command- 
ments; that  is,  they  have  been  so— 

2.  "  Since  the  fall,"  but  not  previously.  For  Adam, 
before  his  fall,  was  able  perfectly  to  obey  the  divine 
law;  and  for  a  season  he  did  actually  thus  obey  it. 
Having  been  created  "  in  the  image  of  God,"  he  was 
perfectly  holy,  and  was,  in  his  very  formation,  endued 
with  all  the  power  or  ability  necessary  to  his  resist- 
ance of  every  temptation,  and  to  his  rendering  to  the 
law  which  his  Creator  gave  him,  a  perfectly  sinless 
obedience.  It  was  therefore  proper,  that  the  answer 
before  us  should  carefully  limit,  as  it  does,  the  moral 
impotency  of  man,  to  what  has  become  his  condition 
"since  the  fall." 

3.  Another  limitation  is,  that  it  is  only  "  in  this  life" 
that  the  inability  in  question  will  continue.  For  it  is 
a  most  comfortable  thought  to  the  people  of  God, 
that  "in  the  life  to  come"  they  will  be,  and  for  ever 
remain,  as  entirely  free  from  sin  as  the  angels  of  God 
in  heaven.  There  they  will  eternally  and  delightfully 
obey  the  whole  will  of  their  heavenly  Father;  and 
find  that  in  this  entire  conformity  to  his  blessed  will, 
the  happiness  of  their  glorified  state  will  essentially 
consist. 

4.  Another,  and  the  last  qualification  of  the  asser- 
tion contained  in  the  answer  before  us  is,  that  it  re- 
lates only  to  a  perfect  obedience — "  no  mere  man 
since  the  fall  is  able,  in  this  \\{e,  perfectly  to  keep  the 
commandments  of  God."  This  must  be  noted  and 
remembered;  because  every  real  child  of  God  certainly 


270 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


does  keep  his  commandments,  truly,  sincerely,  impar- 
tially, and  without  reserve;  although  a  degree  of  im- 
perfection cleaves,  for  the  present,  to  all  that  he  does; 
and  although  he  is  liable  to  fall,  and  does  sometimes 
actually  fall,  into  aggraved  sin.  It  is  not  easy  for  us 
to  understand  how  any  one  who  has  just  conceptions 
of  the  holiness  of  God,  and  the  spirituality  and  per- 
fection of  his  law,  and  who  is  acquainted  with  the 
depravity  and  deceitfulness  of  the  human  heart,  and 
who  reads  in  the  book  of  God,  that  "  there  is  not 
a  just  man  upon  earth  who  doth  good  and  sinneth 
not,"  should  still  believe  in  a  slate  of  sinless  perfec- 
tion, as  the  attainment  of  any  child  of  Adam,  in  the 
present  life.  So  far  is  this  from  being  the  truth,  that 
our  Catechism  is  borne  out  by  the  plain  testimony  of 
the  sacred  Scriptures,  when  it  asserts  that  every  mere 
man  since  the  fall,  and  in  the  present  life,  doth  ^^ daily 
break  the  commandments  of  God,  in  thought,  word, 
and  deed."  Recollect  that  the  commandments  of  God 
are  broken  by  the  want  of  perfect  obedience,  as  well 
as  by  the  actual  violation  or  transgression  of  them; 
then  think  of  the  summary  which  our  Saviour  him- 
self has  given  of  these  commandments — "  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength,  and  with  all 
thy  mind;  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself," — and  then 
say,  whether  in  your  own  judgment,  there  has  ever 
been  a  day  of  your  life,  since  you  were  capable  of 
moral  action,  in  which  there  was  no  defect  of  obe- 
dience, nor  any  actual  transgression  of  the  Saviour's 
summary  of  God's  holy  law.  Can  you  lay  your  hand 
on  your  heart,  and  looking  up  to  Him  who  searches 
it  say — "  Great  God,  I  appeal  to  thee,  that  on  such  a 
day  my  thoughts  were  all  in  perfect  harmony  with 
supreme  love  to  thee,  and  with  love  to  my  neighbour 
as  to  myself;  and  when  all  my  words  and  actions 
were  without  a  fault.?"  I  hope  there  is  none  of  you 
that  would  dare  to  do  this;  because  your  doing  it 
would  be  a  demonstrative  proof  that  you  were  most 
awfully  blinded  and  infatuated,  by  the  very  sin  which 
you  denied.    Consider  attentively  the  following  plain 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  27 1 

citations  from  the  oracles  of  infallible  truth,  and  you 
will  see  that  the  statement  of  the  Catechism  does  not 
go  to  an  extreme — Gen.  viii.  21 — "The  imagination 
of  man's  heart  is  evil  from  his  youth."  Job  xv.  14 — 
"  What  is  man  that  he  should  be  clean?  and  he  that 
is  born  of  a  woman  that  he  should  be  righteous?" 
John  XV.  5 — "  Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing."  1 
John  i.  8 — "  If  we  say  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive 
ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."  James  iii.  2 — 
"  In  many  things  we  offend  all" — and  v.  S — "  The 
tongue  can  no  man  tame;  it  is  an  unruly  evil,  full  of 
deadly  poison."  Rom.  iii.  19 — "that  every  mouth 
may  be  stopped,  and  all  the  world  may  become  guilty 
!  before  God."  And  add  to  these  texts  that  remark- 
-  able  passage  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  to  which  I  referred  in  the  last  lecture, 
'■  as  illustrative  of  the  evil  desires  and  propensities  even 
';  of  the  renewed  mind;  and  in  which  the  Holy  Apostle 
represents  himself  as  in  a  perpetual  conflict  with  the 
indwelling  sin  of  his  heart. 

The  eminent  and  justly  celebrated  Richard  Hook- 
er, in  his  "  learned  discourse  of  Justification,"  goes 
further  than  is  expressed  in  our  Catechism;  but  not 
further  than  its  intended  meaning  and  import,  nor 
further  than  the  truth  of  the  case.  He  not  only 
maintains  that  we  sin  daily,  but  that  there  is  not  07ie 
thought,  word  or  deed,  of  our  whole  life,  but  what  is 
imperfect,  or  mingled  with  sin.  His  language  is  a 
little  antiquated,  but  it  is  very  impressive.  "  Let," 
says  he,  "  the  holiest  and  best  things  which  we  do  be 
considered:  we  are  never  better  aff'ected  unto  God 
than  when  we  pray;  yet  when  we  pray,  how  are  our 
affections  many  times  distracted!  how  little  reverence 
do  we  show  unto  the  grand  Majesty  of  God,  unto 
whom  we  speak!  how  little  remorse  of  our  own  mis- 
eries! how  little  taste  of  the  sweet  influence  of  his 
tender  mercies  do  we  feel!  Are  we  not  as  unwilling 
many  times  to  begin,  and  as  glad  to  make  an  end,  as 
if,  in  saying — Call  upon  tne,  he  had  set  us  a  very 
burthensome  task?  It  may  seem  somewhat  extreme, 
which  I  will  speak;  therefore  let  every  one  judge  of 


i 


272 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


it,  even  as  his  own  heart  shall  tell  him,  and  no  other- 
wise; I  will  but  only  make  a  demand:  if  God  sliould 
yield  unto  us,  not  as  unto  Mraharti,  if  fifty,  forty, 
thirty,  tv/enty,  yea,  or  if  ten  good  persons  could  be 
found  in  a  city,  for  their  sakes  that  city  should  not  be 
destroyed;  but,  and  if  he  should  make  us  an  offer 
thus  large:  Search  all  the  generations  of  men,  since 
the  fall  of  our  father  Adam,  find  one  man  that  hath 
done  one  action,  which  hath  passed  from  him  pure, 
without  any  stain  or  blemish  at  all;  and  for  that  one 
man's  only  action,  neither  man  nor  angel  shall  feel 
the  torments  which  are  prepared  for  both.  Do  you 
think  that  this  ransom,  to  deliver  men  and  angels, 
could  be  found  to  be  among  the  sons  of  men?  The 
best  things  which  we  do,  have  somewhat  in  them  to 
be  pardoned.  How  then  can  we  do  any  thing  meri- 
torious, or  worthy  to  be  rewarded  ?  Indeed,  God  doth 
liberally  promise  whatsoever  appertaineth  to  a  blessed 
life,  to  as  many  as  sincerely  keep  his  law,  though  they 
be  not  exactly  able  to  keep  it.  Wherefore  we  ac- 
knowledge a  dutiful  necessity  of  doing  well ;  but  the 
meritorious  dignity  of  doing  well,  we  utterly  re- 
nounce. We  see  how  far  we  are  from  the  perfect 
righteousness  of  the  law;  the  little  fruit  which  we 
have  in  holiness,  it  is,  God  knoweth,  corrupt  and  un- 
sound: we  put  no  confidence  at  all  in  it,  we  challenge 
nothing  in  the  world  for  it;  we  dare  not  call  God  to 
reckoning,  as  if  we  had  him  in  our  debt-books:  our 
continual  suit  to  him  is,  and  must  be,  to  bear  with 
our  infirmities  and  pardon  our  offences." 

In  closing  this  lecture,  in  which  our  Catechism 
expressly  declares  that  no  mere  man,  since  the  fall, 
is  able  perfectly  to  keep  the  commandments  of  God, 
you  may  expect  that  I  should  say  something  of  a 
controversy  which  has  long  been  going  on,  and  is  not 
yet  terminated,  in  our  country,  in  regard  to  what  is 
denominated  "  natural  and  moral  inability."  My 
first  remark  is,  that  the  wording  of  the  point  in  con- 
troversy appears  to  me  to  be  unhappy,  and  calcula- 
ted to  produce  confusion  of  thought  and  expression; 
because  it  will  be  allowed  by  both  parties  in  this  con- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  273 

troversy,  that  the  moral  inahility  spoken  of,  is  natu- 
ral to  the  whole  human  race  since  the  fall  of  Adam; 
that  is,  it  is  a  part  of  our  nature."*  An  eminent  and 
discriminating  writert  on  this  subject,  has  said  justly, 
"  That  is  physical  necessity  which  is  the  invincible 
effect  of  the  law  of  nature  ;  and  it  is  neither  less  nat- 
ural nor  less  unsurmountable,  if  it  is  from  the  laws 
of  spirit,  than  it  would  be,  if  it  were  from  the  laws  of 
matter."  Again — The  parties  in  this  controversy  are 
agreed  in  another  point;  namely,  that  all  actual  sin 
is  voluntary,  and  therefore  criminal  and  inexcusable. 
Those,  indeed,  who  contend  for  the  difference  be- 
tween natural  and  moral  inability,  in  reference  to  the 
sinful  actions  of  men,  endeavour  to  represent  those 
with  whom  they  contend,  as  opposing  human  liberty 
and  accountableness.  But  the  opposite  party  deny 
this  unequivocally,  protest  against  their  being  charged 
with  a  consequence  of  their  system,  which  they  affirm 
is  not  fairly  drawn,  and  maintain  that,  although  they 
may  account  for  human  guilt  in  a  manner  different 
from  their  opponents,  yet  they  as  fully  and  extensive- 
ly admit  and  insist  on  its  existence  and  criminality; 
and  make  the  free  offers  of  the  gospel,  and  urge  their 
acceptance,  as  sincerely  and  earnestly  as  any  others. 
Once  more — Both  parties,  if  they  maintain  other  Cal- 
vinistic  sentiments,  as  the  most  of  ihem  hitherto  have 
done,  say  explicitly,  that  not  one  of  Adam's  fallen 
race  ever  yet  did,  or  ever  will,  make  use  of  his  moral 
ability  to  renounce  sin  and  accept  the  salvation  prof- 
fered by  the  gospel  of  Christ,  till  disposed  and  inclined 
thereto  by  the  renewing  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
And  those  who  deny  the  distinction  in  question,  think 
and  say,  that  it  seems  to  be  a  singular  kind  of  ability, 
which  no  child  of  Adam  ever  did  or  ever  will  exert, 
although  urged  to  it  by  the  strongost  possible  motives 
that  can  be  presented  to  an  intelligent  being — will 
never  exert  this  ability,  till  an  influence  comes  on  his 
mind  from  an  external  source.     They  think,  too,  that 

*  Perhaps  the  New  Haven  school  of  Theology  should  here  be  ex- 
cepted ;  but  if  so,  let  it  stand  by  itself  on  the  present  occasion, 
t  Wither  spoon. 


274 


LECTURES      ON     THE 


the  assertion  of  this  moral  ability  leads  to  the  denial 
of  the  necessity  of  divine  influence — one  of  the  plain- 
est and  most  important  doctrines  of  the  gospel — and 
that  even  those  who  admit  the  necessity  of  this  influ- 
ence, do  often,  in  preaching,  so  leave  it  out  of  view, 
as  to  make  the  people  think  that  the  speaker  does  not 
regard  it  as  indispensable.  Neither  is  it  admitted 
that  a  full  sense  of  dependence  on  God,  when  real 
and  rightly  understood,  has  any  tendency  to  discour- 
age efl'ort,  or  to  dispose  to  a  neglect  of  the  use  of 
means.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  maintained  that  noth- 
ing is  so  encouraging  to  a  soul  that  truly  perceives  its 
helplessness,  as  to  point  it  to  an  Almighty  deliverer; 
that  nothing  will  make  it  cry  for  help  so  earnestly, 
importunately,  nor  with  such  a  prospect  of  success, 
as  this  very  feeling  of  helplessness  in  itself;  and  that 
means  are  never  so  likely  to  be  diligently  and  effec- 
tually used,  as  when  they  are  represented  as  deriving 
their  efficiency  from  the  blessing  of  God,  sought  for 
in  the  way  of  his  appointment — in  the  use  of  the 
means  prescribed  in  his  Holy  word.  On  the  whole, 
then,  although  I  admit  fully  that  there  is  a  plain  differ- 
ence between  moral  and  natural  inability,  such  as 
would  instantly  strike  you  all,  if  I  should  ask  one  of 
you  to  rise  from  his  seat,  and  request  of  another  to  fly 
in  the  air — yet  when  applied  to  the  subject  before  us, 
I  think  it  altogether  improper — a  distinction  without 
a  difference.  The  disposition  to  do  right,  is  as  essen- 
tial to  right  doing,  as  understanding,  judgment,  con- 
science, or  any  other  natural  faculty  of  the  mind ;  and 
if  every  man  in  his  natural  state  is  without  this  dis- 
position, he  has  a  natural  inability,  which  is  at  the 
same  time  a  moral  inability,  to  act  rightly.  The 
word  of  God,  also,  as  seems  to  me,  is  directly  opposed 
to  this  distinction;  as  in  the  declaration  of  the  Sa- 
viour, "  No  man  can  come  to  me,  except  the  Father, 
which  hath  sent  me,  draw  him;"  and  of  the  apostle 
Paul — "  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God,  not 
subject  to  his  law,  neither  indeed  can  be;"  and  in  a 
great  variety  of  passages  of  similar  import. 

I  conclude  the  present  lecture  with  a  quotation 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  275 

from  Dr.  Witherspoon,  in  which  my  own  views  of 
the  topic  before  us  are  correctly  expressed:  "As  to 
the  inability  of  man  to  recover  himself  by  his  own 
power,  though  I  would  never  attempt  to  establish  a 
metaphysical  system  of  necessity,  of  which  infidels 
avail  themselves  in  opposition  to  all  religion,  nor  pre- 
sume to  explain  the  influence  of  the  Creator  on  the 
creature;  yet  nothing  is  more  plain,  from  Scripture, 
or  better  supported  by  daily  experience,  than  that 
man  by  nature  is  in  fact  incapable  of  recovery,  with- 
out the  power  of  God  specially  interposed.  I  will 
not  call  it  a  necessity  arising  from  the  irresistible  laws 
of  nature.  I  see  it  is  not  a  necessity  of  the  same  kind 
as  constraint ;  but  I  see  it  an  impossibility,  such  as  the 
sinner  never  does  overcome." 


276 


LECTURES      ON     THE 


LECTURE  LVIII. 


The  next  position  of  our  Catechism  which  we  are 
called  to  consider  is  this — "  Some  sins  in  themselves 
and  by  reason  of  several  aggravations,  are  more  hein- 
ous in  the  sight  of  God  than  others.'^ 

This  proposition,  you  perceive,  consists  of  two  parts. 
It  affirms — 

I.  That  some  sins  in  themselves;  that  is,  in  their 
very  nature,  are  more  heinous  in  the  sight  of  God  than 
others. 

II.  That  the  guilt  or  malignity  of  sin  may  be  in- 
creased, by  reason  of  several  aggravations. 

I  do  not  think  that  either  of  these  propositions  re- 
quires any  formal  proof.  Both  of  them  are  sanctioned, 
not  only  by  very  numerous  and  plain  declarations  of 
Holy  Scripture,  but  by  the  common  sense  and  feeling 
of  mankind.  Illustration,  then,  is  all  that  is  neces- 
sary in  treating  on  this  answer  of  the  Catechism — 
thus, 

I.  In  regard  to  the  assertion  that  some  sins  in  them- 
selves, that  is,  in  their  very  nature,  are  more  heinous 
in  the  sight  of  God  than  others,  we  have  only  to  say, 
that  unqualified  blasphemy  is  a  more  heinous  sin  than 
a  minced  oath;  or  that  deliberate  murder  is  a  greater 
crime  than  a  momentary  feeling  of  unjustifiable  anger: 
and  every  human  being,  who  understands  our  lan- 
guage, and  whose  conscience  is  not  perfectly  stupi- 
fied,  will  immediately  assent  to  the  truth  of  what  we 
affirm.  All  perceive  that  blasphemy  implies  a  depth 
of  depravity,  a  force  and  strength  of  horrible  impiety, 
in  the  blasphemer,  that  is  not  indicated  by  a  degree 
of  profaneness  which  the  very  act  demonstrates,  that 
he  who  is  guilty  of  it,  is  still  afraid  of  the  extreme  of 
the  sin  wMiich  he  commits.  In  like  manner,  we  can- 
not think  without  shuddering  of  that  destitution  of  all 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  277 

moral  sensibility,  and  that  infernal  vindictiveness, 
which  there  must  be  in  the  soul  of  the  deliberate  mur- 
derer; while  we  regard  a  flash  of  unseasonable  angry- 
feeling,  rather  as  an  infirmity  than  a  crime.  Trans- 
gressions, therefore,  both  of  the  first  table  of  the  moral 
law  and  of  the  second — sins  against  God,  and  sins 
against  man — are,  by  the  feelings  of  every  person  who 
has  any  moral  sensibility,  immediately  judged  to  be, 
in  their  very  nature,  of  exceedingly  different  degrees 
of  malignity.  Accordingly,  this  truth  is  recognized 
throughout  the  Bible.  To  give  but  a  single  example: 
our  Saviour  represents  the  sin  of  Capernaum  and 
Bethsaida,  as  unquestionably  greater  than  that  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 

II.  It  is  also  evident  that  the  guilt  or  malignity  of 
sin  may  be  increased,  by  reason  of  several  aggrava- 
vations.  This  will  at  once  appear,  when  the  circum- 
stances and  considerations  which  render  sin  aggrava- 
ted are  brought  into  view.  These  circumstances  and 
considerations  I  have,  to  a  considerable  extent,  alrea- 
dy stated  in  my  sixteenth  lecture,  to  which  I  refer 
you;  and  request  you  particularly  to  regard  the  warn- 
ing I  have  there  given,  against  the  common  and  per- 
nicious evil  of  seeking  to  excuse  and  extenuate  guilt, 
by  comparing  one  sin  with  another.  To  what  I  have 
heretofore  said,  I  shall  only  now  add  what  the  pious, 
judicious,  and  accurate  authors  of  our  Larger  Cate- 
chism, have  said  on  this  subject.  Their  statement  is 
at  once  so  comprehensive  and  so  particular,  that  it 
will  not  be  found  easy  to  think  of  a  single  circum- 
stance or  consideration  that  aggravates  sin,  which 
they  have  not  specified.  In  answer  to  the  question — 
"  What  are  those  aggravations  that  make  some  sins 
more  heinous  than  others?"  this  answer  is  given: 

"  Sins  receive  their  aggravations, 

"  1.  From  the  persons  offending:  If  they  be  of  riper 
age,  greater  experience,  or  grace;  eminent  for  profes- 
sion, gifts,  place,  office,  guides  to  others,  and  whose 
example  is  likely  to  be  followed  by  others. 

"2.  From  the  parties  offended:  If  immediately 
against   God,   his   attributes    and  worship;    against 


278  LECTURES     ON     THE 

Christ,  and  his  grace;  the  Holy  Spirit,  his  witness 
and  workings;  against  superiors,  men  of  eminency, 
and  such  as  we  stand  especially  related  and  engaged 
unto;  against  any  of  the  saints,  particularly  weak 
brethren,  the  souls  of  them  or  any  other;  and  the 
common  good  of  all  or  of  many. 

"3.  From  the  nature  and  quality  of  the  offence: 
If  it  be  against  the  express  letter  of  the  law,  break 
many  commandments,  contain  in  it  many  sins:  If  not 
only  conceived  in  the  heart,  but  breaks  forth  in  words 
and  actions,  scandalize  others,  and  admit  of  no  re- 
paration :  If  against  means,  mercies,  judgments,  light 
of  nature,  conviction  of  conscience,  public  or  private 
admonition,  censures  of  the  church,  civil  punishments ; 
and  our  prayers,  purposes,  promises,  vows,  covenants, 
and  engagements  to  God  or  men:  If  done  deliberate- 
ly, wilfully,  presumptuously,  impudently,  boastingly, 
maliciously,  frequently,  obstinately,  with  delight,  con- 
tinuaiice,  or  relapsing  after  repentance. 

"4.  From  circumstances  of  time,  and  place:  If  on 
the  Lord's  day,  or  other  times  of  divine  worship;  or 
immediately  before,  or  after  these,  or  other  helps  to 
prevent  or  remedy  such  miscarriages:  If  in  public,  or 
in  the  presence  of  others,  who  are  thereby  likely  to 
be  provoked  or  defiled." 

I  would  recommend  to  you,  my  young  friends,  as 
a  very  profitable  employment  for  an  hour  on  the 
Lord's  day,  to  go  over  deliberately  this  enumeration 
of  the  aggravations  of  sin,  contained  in  your  Larger 
Catechism;  to  consider  each  article  attentively;  to  con- 
nect it  with  an  attentive  reading  of  the  Scripture 
proof,  to  which  you  will  find  a  reference;  and  with  a 
serious  meditation  on  the  whole.  I  know  of  no  exer- 
cise better  calculated  to  promote  a  holy  fear  of  sinning, 
and  to  guard  you  especially  against  flagrant  trans- 
gressions. If  the  exercise  be  rightly  conducted,  you 
can  hardly  fail  to  be  led  by  it,  to  join  in  the  exclama- 
tion and  prayer  of  the  Psalmist — "  Who  can  under- 
stand his  errors!  Cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults; 
keep  back  thy  servant  also  from  presumptuous  sins ; 
let  them  not  have  dominion  over  me;  then  shall  I  be 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  279 

upright,  and  I  shall  be  innocent  from  the  great  trans- 
gression." 

There  is  one  clause  in  the  answer  of  our  Catechism 
now  before  us,  which  has  not  yet  been  noticed,  and 
which  we  must  by  no  means  overlook.  It  is,  that  the 
nature  and  aggravation  of  sin,  is  to  be  estimated  as  it 
appears  "  in  the  sight  of  God."  Men  often  regard 
particular  sins,  very  differently  from  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  regarded  by  God.  Human  estimate 
in  such  cases  is  always  erroneous,  and  indeed  in  every 
case  it  is  defective;  but  God's  estimate  is  alway  right 
and  perfect.  This  is  a  point,  my  dear  youth,  that  de- 
serves your  particular  attention.  You  live  in  a  sinful 
world,  and  you  will  frequently  find  yourselves,  from 
a  corrupt  state  of  society,  or  the  prevalence  of  fashion- 
able vice,  in  great  danger  of  putting  evil  for  good,  and 
good  for  evil.  Unquestionable  virtues  you  will  often 
hear  stigmatized  as  mean  and  contemptible  qualities; 
and  certain  vices  represented  as  indications  of  a  noble 
and  manly  spirit.  Vile  practices,  and  very  sinful  acts, 
will  often  be  disguished  by  giving  them  soft  names, 
or  by  representing  them  as  the  venial  aberrations  of 
a  generous  mind  and  a  good  heart — and  very  often, 
as  nothing  more  than  the  effervescence,  or  at  worst, 
the  frailties  of  youth.  But,  0  remember!  that  "  God 
seeth  not  as  man  seelh."  Take  his  holy  word,  and 
not  the  opinions  of  sinful  men,  blinded  and  perverted 
by  their  lusts,  and  passions,  and  prejudices,  as  the 
criterion  of  virtue  and  vice,  truth  and  error.  Although 
it  be  true,  as  you  have  just  been  hearing,  that  some 
sins  are  more  heinous  than  others,  yet  remember  that 
this  does  not  imply  that  there  are  any  little  sins.  No 
truly;  every  sin  is  a  violation  of  God's  most  just  and 
holy  law;  and  many  of  those  practices  which  a  world 
that  lieth  in  wickedness  think  harmless,  or  regard  as 
mere  foibles  of  character,  the  oracles  of  infallible  truth 
pointedly  condemn,  and  show  that  they  have  some- 
times brought  down  on  those  who  indulge  in  them, 
the  marked  and  severe  displeasure  of  God,  who  is  of 
"  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  evil,  and  who  cannot  look 
on  iniquity." 


280  LECTURES     ON     THE 

Bnt  in  reality  there  are  many  sins,  and  some  of 
very  great  enormity,  which  are  -'naked  and  open  to 
the  eyes  of  Him  with  whom  we  have  to  do,"  which 
are  and  will  be  hidden  from  every  hnman  eye,  till  the 
disclosures  of  that  day,  when  "God  shall  bring  every 
work  into  judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  whether 
it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  evil."  I  have  here  in 
view,  not  only  those  acts  of  flagitious  wickedness, 
which  are  never  brought  to  light  in  this  world;  but 
also,  and  chiefly,  those  sins  of  the  heart,  whicli  have 
been  long  cherished  and  brooded  over,  in  the  secret 
recesses  of  the  soul,  but  which,  for  the  want  of  op- 
portunity, or  from  the  fear  of  detection,  have  never 
issued  in  overt  acts  of  transgression.  When  we  con- 
sider that  the  heart  is  the  seat  and  source  of  all  sin — 
that  the  outward  act,  in  a  moral  view,  is  nothing, 
further  than  as  it  indicates  the  state  of  the  heart — we 
may  easily  perceive,  that  in  the  view  of  that  "  God 
who  searches  the  heart,"  a  man  may  be  chargeable 
with  sins  of  the  deepest  die,  which  have  never  broken 
forth  into  deeds  of  atrocity.  There  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  there  have  often  been,  and  now  are,  men- 
tal blasphemers,  murderers,  adulterers,  thieves,  and 
robbers,  who  are  at  present  known  as  such  to  God, 
and  whom  he  will  jndge  and  punish  as  such  here- 
after, who  yet  have  never  perpetrated,  and  never  will 
perpetrate,  the  outward  acts,  to  which  their  inward 
dispositions  fully  correspond.  Cultivate,  my  dear 
young  friends,  an  habitual  sense  of  your  Maker's 
omniscience,  and  the  recollection  that  every  secret  of 
your  souls,  is  as  perfectly  set  in  the  light  of  his  coun- 
tenance as  the  most  conspicuous  action  of  your  lives. 
This  will  produce  a  strong  inducement  to  watch 
against  all  sin,  both  of  heart  and  life;  and  it  will  tend 
to  make  you  seek  its  pardon — to  seek  earnestly  to  be 
cleansed  in  your  Redeemer's  blood,  clothed  with  his 
righteousness,  and  sanctified  by  his  Spirit,  that  you 
may  be  prepared  to  dwell  with  him  in  those  pure  and 
blessed  mansions,  from  which  all  sin,  and  all  its  aw- 
ful consequences,  shall  be  for  ever  excluded. 

It  is,  my  young  friends,  a  solemn  and  alarming  truth 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  281 

which  is  expressed  in  the  next  proposition  to  which 
your  attention  must  be  invited;  namely,  that  "  Every 
sin,  deserveth  God's  wrath  and  curse,  both  in  this  life 
and  that  which  is  to  come." 

Perhaps  you  are  ready,  my  young  friends,  to  object 
to  the  doctrine  which  is  here  propounded,  as  incon- 
sistent with  equity,  and  irreconcilable  of  course  with 
the  divine  attribute  of  justice.  A  careful  attention  to 
the  subject,  however,  will,  I  am  persuaded,  satisfy 
you  that  no  other  proper  answer  could  be  made  to  the 
question,  "What  doth  every  sin  deserve?"  than  that 
which  is  given  in  the  Catechism.  A  principal  design 
of  the  answer  doubtless  was,  to  oppose  the  absurd 
and  dangerous  distinction  which  is  made  in  the  Ro- 
mish church,  between  some  sins  which  are  repre- 
sented as  venial,  and  others  that  are  denominated 
mortal. 

By  mortal  sins,  the  Romanists  understand  those 
which  subject  the  parties  committing  them  to  the 
penalty  of  death — even  death  eternal.  But  there 
is,  according  to  them,  another  class  of  sins  which  they 
call  venial,  and  which  do  not  subject  those  who  com- 
mit them  to  such  an  awful  penalty — sins  which  are 
in  their  nature  so  small  and  trivial,  that  they  may 
be  expiated  hy  penance,  ox  by  some  other  mode  of 
making  satisfaction  for  them  by  the  offenders.*  We 
believe  that  this  distinction,  in  regard  to  the  nature 
of  different  kinds  of  sin,  is  not  warranted  either  by 
reason  or  Scripture,  but  directly  opposed  by  both. 
All  sin,  by  the  verdict  both  of  reason  and  Scripture, 
is  an  evil  of  the  same  kind,  however  differing  in  de- 

*  The  Romanists  mention  three  kinds  of  venial  sins — Some  which 
are  in  their  nature  really  bad,  as  an  idle  word,  excessive  laughter. 
Others,  which  are  not  voluntary,  as  the  first  motions  of  anger  or  of 
envy,  which  occur  by  surprise.  Others,  which  are  so  small  that  they 
scarce  claim  attention,  as  the  purloining  of  a  denier''' — [The  twelfth 
part  of  a  French  penny.] — Pictet  Theol.  B.vii.c.  9.    Note. 

Pictet  also  remarks,  that  the  term  venial  was  applied  to  sin  by  the 
Protestant  Reformers,  but  in  a  totally  different  sense  from  its  use  by 
the  Romanists.  The  Reformers  used  it  to  denote  those  sins  which 
are  pardonable,  and  which  are  actually  forgiven  to  believers  in  Christ, 
tlius  distinguishing  these  from  the  unpardonable  sin,  or  the  sin  unto 
death. 

VOL.  II. — 19 


282  LECTURES     ON    THE 

grees.  We  can  give  no  other  just  definition  of  this 
evil,  than  that  which  is  given  in  the  sacred  oracles — 
"  Sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law" — and  of  course, 
"where  there  is  no  law,  there  is  no  transgression" — 
no  sin.  What  the  Papists,  therefore,  call  venial  sins, 
are  either  no  sins  at  all,  or  else  they  are  transgressions 
of  the  law  of  God :  And  if  they  are  transgressions  of 
the  law,  they  must  subject  those  who  commit  them  to 
the  penalty  of  that  law;  for  you  will  observe  that  it  is 
essential  to  the  very  idea  of  a  law  that  it  should  contain 
a  penalty.  A  publication  that  holds  forth  no  penalty, 
may  contain  counsel,  or  argument,  or  recommenda- 
tion, or  persuasion,  but  it  is  not  a  law.  Now  there 
is  nothing  offensive  to  God  but  what  is  a  violation  of 
his  law;  for  he  certainly  has  prohibited  whatsoever  is 
offensive  to  himself.  If,  therefore,  the  Papists  cannot 
show  that  God  has  affixed  two  kinds  of  penalty  to 
his  law,  they  can  never  make  out  their  class  of  venial 
sins.  They  seem  indeed  to  have  felt  this  consequence, 
and  hence  to  have  invented  for  their  venial  sins  the 
penalty  of  penance,  and  human  merit.  But  this  is 
only  adding  a  second  error  to  the  first;  for  the  Scrip- 
tures teach  us  abundantly  and  unequivocally,  that 
"without  the  shedding  of  blood — the  blood  of  Christ 
which  cleanseth  from  all  sin — there  is  no  remis- 
sion." • 

As  then  all  sin — and  consequently  what  is  called 
venial  sin — is  a  transgression  of  law,  and  as  every 
law  must  contain  its  own  penalty,  we  have  only  to 
inquire  what  is  the  penalty  which  the  law  of  God 
pronounces  on  all  who  transgress  it,  and  we  shall  see 
at  once  what  every  sin  deserves;  for  we  know  that 
the  judgment  of  God  is  always  according  to  truth. 
Thus  then  it  is  written — "  Cursed  is  every  oiie  who 
continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law  to  do  them."  The  curse  of  the  law 
is,  and  can  be,  nothing  else  than  the  penalty  of  the 
law;  and  it  is  here  declared  to  rest  on  every  trans- 
gression without  exception.  "  The  wages  of  sin  is 
death,"  says  the  Apostle  Paul.  He  makes  no  dis- 
tinction between  one  kind  of  sin  and  another;  and  by 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  283 

the  wages  of  sin  he  manifestly  means  the  desert  of 
sin.  Death,  therefore,  according  to  him,  is  the  desert 
of  every  si7i,  which  is  precisely  what  our  Catechism 
affirms;  for  lay  death,  in  this  place,  the  context  proves 
beyond  a  question,  we  are  to  understand  everlasting 
punishment i  which  is  the  same  thing  that  is  intended 
in  the  answer  before  us,  by  "  the  wrath  and  curse  of 
God,  both  in  this  life  and  in  that  which  is  to  come" — 
all  the  sufferings  of  this  life  being  the  deserved  effects 
of  sin,  and  the  commencement,  to  every  finally  impeni- 
tent sinner,  of  the  wrath  of  God  to  endless  ages.  You 
scarcely  need  to  be  reminded  here,  that  by  the  wrath 
of  God  we  do  not  mean  any  thing  like  passion,  which 
always  implies  change,  and  therefore  imperfection, 
which  we  know  cannot  belong  to  the  Supreme  Being. 
By  the  wrath  of  God,  we  are  to  understand  "  that 
most  pure  and  undisturbed  act  of  his  will,  which  pro- 
duces most  dreadful  effects  against  the  sinner."* 

I  have  said  so  much  on  this  subject,  because  it  is 
of  the  greatest  practical  importance  to  have  just  views 
of  the  very  nature  of  sin — of  its  unspeakable  ill  desert. 
It  is,  in  its  essential  nature,  rebellion  against  God,  the 
supreme  moral  legislator  of  the  universe.  It  is,  says 
Fisher  justly,  "  opposition  and  contrariety  to  the  holi- 
ness of  God  expressed  in  his  law,  which  is  the  very 
thing  that  constitutes  the  enormity  or  heinousness  of 
it."  Without  a  perception  of  the  evil  nature  of  all 
sin  as  possessing  this  character — the  character,  objec- 
tively at  least,  of  an  infinite  evil — men  will  not  be 
driven  away  from  their  vain  attempts  to  cancel  their 
sins  by  some  acts  of  their  own — will  not  be  shut  up 
to  the  faith  of  Christ,  as  the  only  ground  of  pardon 
andof  hope,  and  thus  make  sure  their  salvation,  from 
the  awful  consequences  of  their  apostasy  from  God. 

But  it  may  now  be  proper  to  remark,  that  although 
we  have  shown  what  every  sin  deserves,  there  never 
has  been,  since  the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  an  indivi- 
dual of  their  apostate  race,  of  whom  it  could  be  said, 
after  he  became  capable  of  moral  action,  that  he  had 
committed  but  one  sin.     The  penalty  of  the  Divine 

*  Fisher. 


284  LECTURES     ON     THE 

law,  therefore,  will,  in  fact,  be  inflicted  only  on  those 
whose  sins  are  multitudinous.  Such  at  least  must  be 
the  creed  of  those  who  believe  that  neither  ideots,  nor 
infants  who  die  in  non-age,  will  suffer  after  the  pre- 
sent life. 

Again.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind,  that  no  sinner 
will  ever  be  punished  beyond  his  desert;  and  that 
this  desert,  among  the  individuals  concerned,  is  al- 
most infinitely  various.  On  this  point  the  word  of 
God  is  most  explicit — "  That  servant  which  knew  his 
lord's  will,  and  prepared  not  himself,  neither  did  ac- 
cording to  his  will,  shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes. 
But  he  that  knew  not,  and  did  commit  things  worthy 
of  stripes,  shall  be  beaten  with  few  stripes.  For  unto 
whom  much  is  given,  of  him  shall  be  much  required; 
and  to  whom  men  have  committed  much,  of  him 
they  will  ask  the  more.  For  there  is  no  respect  of 
persons  with  God.  For  as  many  as  have  sinned 
without  law,  shall  also  perish  without  law ;  and  as 
many  as  have  sinned  in  the  law,  shall  be  judged  by 
the  law.  (For  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just  be- 
fore God,  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified. 
For  when  the  Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do 
by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these, 
having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves: 
Which  show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their 
hearts,  their  conscience  also  bearing  witness,  and 
their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  accusing  or  else  excus- 
ing one  another.)  In  the  day  when  God  shall  judge 
the  secrets  of  men  by  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  my 
gospel." 

My  dear  young  friends,  it  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance to  us  to  hold  Qoxreci  jjrinciples  in  theology  and 
morals.  The  connexion  and  the  bearings  of  such 
principles  are  more  extensive,  strong,  and  practical, 
than  you  can  easily  perceive  or  comprehend.  But 
when  a  retribution  for  sin  is  to  be  made,  as  in  the 
present  case,  by  the  infinitely  wise,  just,  and  miCrci- 
ful  God,  we  need  not  trouble  ourselves  with  nice 
speculations  how  he  will  make  it.  We  know,  from 
all  his  attributes,  that  it  will  be  made  with  perfect 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  285 

equity — an  equity  which  we  may  not  be  able  to  ana- 
lyze, but  which  he  will  not  fail  to  preserve  in  his 
award. 

Finally.  We  are  most  impressively  taught  by  the 
subject  we  have  been  considering,  that  the  atone- 
ment made  for  sin  by  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  is  the  only  ground  of  hope  for  every  child  of 
Adam,  that  his  transgressions  of  God's  holy  law  will 
be  pardoned,  and  his  soul  be  saved  from  "  the  wrath 
that  is  to  come."  This  great  truth  is  expressed  in 
our  Larger  Catechism,  as  a  part  of  the  subject  before 
us.  And,  verily,  when  we  consider  that  in  every  sin 
we  commit  there  is  a  malignity  which  deserves  the 
severe  and  endless  displeasure  of  Almighty  God,  and 
call  to  mind  that  we  are  chargeable  with  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand  of  these  malignant  acts;  and 
especially  that  all  our  sins,  who  have  enjoyed  the 
clear  light  of  the  gospel,  are  of  the  most  aggravated 
kind — what  could  keep  us  from  sinking  into  absolute 
and  endless  despair,  but  the  knowledge  that  our  gra- 
cious God  and  Father  has  himself  provided  an  ade- 
quate expiation  for  all  our  guilt,  a  complete  remedy 
for  our  helpless  ruin.  "  For  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlast- 
ing life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to 
condemn  the  world;  but  that  the  world  through  him 
might  be  saved.  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which 
taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  In  whom  we 
have  redemption  through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness 
of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace.  For  he 
hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us  who  knew  no  sin, 
that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
him."  Never  think,  my  dear  youth,  of  seeking  sal- 
vation by  attempting  to  diminish  your  guilt — admit 
it  in  all  its  extent  and  aggravation;  your  hope  of  sal- 
vation is  derived,  not  from  the  lightness  of  your  dis- 
ease, but  from  the  infinite  efficacy  of  the  provided 
remedy,  and  the  skill  and  power  of  the  Almighty 
physician.     Go  to  him,  and  tell  him  you  are  under  a 


286  LECTURES    ON    THE 

mortal  malady,  and  that  without  his  interposition 
you  are  sure  to  perish.  Cast  yourself  on  his  mercy — 
make  it  your  sole  reliance.  Reject  with  abhorrence 
every  thought  of  help,  but  from  him  alone.  Accept 
and  rely  on  him  as  your  only  and  all  sufficient  Savi- 
our; and  be  assured  "though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet 
they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow;  though  they  be  red 
like  crimson  they  shall  be  as  wool;"  for  "this — said 
the  Saviour  himself — this  is  the  will  of  him  that  sent 
me,  that  whosoever  seeth  the  Son  and  believeth  on 
him  may  have  everlasting  life;  and  I  will  raise  him 
up  at  the  last  day."  Believe  him,  trust  him,  rely 
upon  him,  and  you  shall  be  saved.     Amen. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  287 


LECTURE  LIX. 


Having  shown  in  the  last  lecture  what  every  sin 
deserves,  we  are  now  to  consider,  that  "  to  escape  the 
wrath  and  curse  of  God  due  to  us  for  sin,  God  re- 
quireth  of  us  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  repentance  unto 
life,  with  a  diligent  use  of  all  the  outward  means 
whereby  Christ  communicateth  to  us  the  benefits  of 
redemption."  Much  that  is  contained  in  this  answer 
of  our  Catechism,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  treat  of 
hereafter  under  separate  propositions,  which  therefore 
we  shall  endeavour  not  to  anticipate.  Several  ideas 
of  importance,  however,  which  appropriately  belong 
to  the  position  now  before  us,  will  demand  your  pre- 
sent attention. 

I.  The  first  is,  that  there  is  an  "escape,"  which 
may  be  made  from  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God.  It 
is  too  little  recollected,  that  for  the  possibility  of  such 
an  escape  we  are  entirely  indebted  to  the  sovereign 
grace  and  mercy  of  the  Deity.  You  know  that  for 
the  angels  "  who  kept  not  their  first  estate,"  no  way 
of  escape  was  provided  or  possible — they  were  imme- 
diately consigned  to  unavoidable,  hopeless,  and  end- 
less perdition:  and  God  was  under  no  obhgation  to 
deal  in  a  different  manner  with  our  fallen  race.  He 
would  have  done  us  no  injustice,  if  he  had  treated  us 
just  as  he  did  "  the  angels  that  sinned."  But  in  his 
boundless  love  and  compassion,  he  has  provided  for 
us  a  Saviour,  and  through  him  a  way  of  escape. 

Further — The  very  word  escape,  suggests  two  other 
important  ideas.  One  is,  that  this  word  is  never  ap- 
plied to  any  but  to  those  who  are  in  a  state  of  peril 
or  danger.  We  have  seen  in  what  an  awfully  peril- 
ous condition  man  was  placed  by  his  original  apos- 
tasy, and  how  the  divine  benevolence  has  opened  a 
way  of  deliverance.     But  it  is  not  enough  that  the 


288 


LECTURES    ON     THE 


way  should  be  opened — it  must  be  used;  it  must  be 
entered  and  pursued,  till  it  leads  to  a  refuge  of  perfect 
safety.  Every  unregenerate  sinner  is  still  in  a  state 
of  the  most  awful  peril.  Believe  it,  beloved  youth,  if 
any  one  of  you  who  is  not  yet  reconciled  to  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  should  have  his  eyes  opened  at 
once,  to  see  all  the  danger  of  his  condition,  it  would 
make  him  tremble.  Awakened  sinners,  who  get  only 
an  imperfect  view  of  their  fearful  condition,  do  often 
tremble;  and  the  only  reason  why  any  wonder  that 
they  do  so  is,  because  they  themselves  are  blind. 

The  other  idea  suggested  by  the  word  escape  is,  a 
flight  from  the  impending  evil.  He  who  escapes 
hastens  away,  with  all  possible  speed,  from  the  peril 
which  threatens  to  destroy  him.  Now  this  intimates 
the  duty  which  a  regard  to  their  own  best  interest,  as 
well  as  to  the  command  of  God,  enjoins  on  all  un- 
sanctified  sinners.  They  ought  not  to  remain  at  ease 
for  a  single  moment,  in  a  situation  in  which  they  are 
constantly  exposed  to  remediless  misery.  Hence  we 
read  of  "  fleeing  from  the  wrath  to  come."  Hence 
the  anxious  demand  of  the  convicted  Jews,  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  for  immediate  direction,  "Men  and 
brethren,  what  shall  we  do?" — and  of  the  trembling 
jailer  at  Philippi — "  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
Delay  is  pleaded  by  unawakened  sinners  under  the 
gospel,  and  it  destroys  them  by  tens  of  thousands; 
but  no  sinner  who  has  his  eyes  opened  on  the  danger 
of  an  impenitent  state,  ever  pleads  for  delay.  He  is 
all  alive  to  make  his  escape  from  the  brink  of  final 
perdition:  and  would  to  God,  my  dear  youth,  that 
every  one  of  you,  not  yet  savingly  interested  in  the 
redemption  of  Christ,  were  in  this  very  state  of  mind. 
You  would  then  listen  with  all  earnestness,  to  what  I 
am  still  to  state  from  the  answer  of  the  Catechism 
now  before  us — which  is 

H.  That  means  are  to  be  employed,  in  making  an 
escape  from  the  "  wrath  and  curse  of  God  due  to  us 
for  sin."  These  means  are  of  two  kinds,  mi^;«rfi?  and 
outward.  The  outward  means  are  to  be  particularly 
considered  hereafter;  the  inward  means  are  those  that 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  289 

claim  our  special   attention  in   the   present  lecture. 
They  are  "faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  repentance  unto 
life" — called  inward  means,  because  they  are  acts  or 
exercises  which  take  place  entirely  within  the  mind. 
When  these,  however,  are  called  tlie  tiieans  of  esca- 
ping the  divine  displeasure,  it  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance to  understand  and  remember,  that  they  are  not 
the  meritorious  cause  of  the  reconciliation  of  God  to 
the  oftending  sinner.     The  merits  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ — his  finished  righteousness  and  prevalent  in- 
tercession— are  alone  the  meritorious  consideration, 
on  which  pardon,  justification,  and  eternal  life,  are 
granted  to  any  of  our  guilty  race.     You  will  under- 
stand how  faith  and  repentance  operate  as  means  of 
salvation,  if  you  consider  attentively,  that  none  will 
be  admitted  to  heaven,  but  those  who  are  at  once 
entitled  to  its  ineffable  bliss,  and  qualified  to  enjoy 
it;  and  that  it  is  by  faith  and  repentance  that  both 
the  title  and  the  qualification  are  obtained.     The  na- 
ture of  these  graces  are  to  be  particularly  explained, 
in  discussing  the  next  answer  of  the  Catechism.     In 
the  mean  time,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  observe,  that 
faith  is  exclusively  the  grace  by  which  the  believing 
sinner  becomes  connected  and  identified  with  the  Sa- 
viour, and  of  course  interested  in  all  the  benefits  of 
his  great  redemption;  and  thus  gains  a  title  to  those 
celestial  mansions  which  the  glorified  Head  of  the 
redeemed  has  promised  to  all  the  members  of  his 
mystical  body,  and  which  he  has  gone  to  prepare  for 
them.     Repentance,  at  the  same  time — for  faith  and 
repentance  always  take  place  together — breaks  the 
power  of  sin  in  the  soul,  turns  the  whole  bias  or  cur- 
rent of  its  aff'ections  from  sin  to  holiness;  and  thus 
the  disposition  is  implanted  and  cherished,  which, 
when  perfected  in  the  article  of  death,  qualifies  it  for 
partaking  in  all  the  holy  exercises  and  enjoyments  of 
the  heavenly  state.     It  is  in  this  way,  and  this  only, 
that  faith  and  repentance  are  means  of  salvation:  and 
till  it  can  be  proved  that  there  is  merit  in  the  accept- 
ance, by  a  perishing  individual,  of  ofl'ered  life  and 
happiness  which  he  has  a  thousand  times  forfeited; 


290  LECTURES    ON    THE 

and  merit  in  ceasing  to  hate,  and  beginning  to  love, 
what  is  supremely  amiable  and  excellent — it  can 
never  be  shown  that  faith  and  repentance  are  meri- 
torious acts:  for  faith  is  really  and  summarily  nothing 
more  than  the  acceptance,  by  a  perishing  sinner,  of 
spiritual  and  eternal  life  and  happiness,  procured  for 
him  and  oflered  to  him,  without  money  and  without 
price,  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  repentance  es- 
sentially consists  in  ceasing  to  hate,  and  beginning 
to  love  supremely,  the  ever  blessed  God,  the  source 
and  sum  of  all  that  is  excellent  and  lovely.  But 
although  excluded  from  all  merit,  in  the  matter  of 
the  sinner's  escape  from  the  wrath  and  curse  of  God, 
you  perceive  that  faith  and  repentance  are  means 
to  be  used,  indispensable  in  effecting  this  escape. 
Therefore, 

III,  God  requires  sinners  to  make  use  of  these 
means — he  requires  of  them  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and 
repentance  unto  life.  Here  arises  the  question — and 
we  shall  meet  it  at  once — how  can  God  require  faith 
and  repentance  of  the  sinner,  when  he  is  utterly  in- 
sufficient of  himself  to  exercise  either? — when  we  are 
expressly  told  that  faith  '■'  is  not  of  ourselves,  it  is  the 
gift  of  God;"*  and  that  Christ  is  "  exalted  to  give  re- 
pentance to  Israel  and  the  forgiveness  of  sin?"  I  do 
think,  my  young  friends,  that  this  subject  has  been 
greatly  perplexed  and  darkened  by  metaphysical  spe- 
culations— *•' science  falsely  so  called."  Cannot  even 
a  child  understand  that  his  father  may  equitably  and 
reasonably  require  of  him  the  performance  of  a  duty, 
which  he  cannot  perform  without  assistance — provi- 
ded the  father  makes  ready  for  him  all  the  assistance 

*  That  faith  is  directly  spoken  of  in  this  passage  as  the  gift  of 
God,  is  the  opinion  of  the  best  commentators  and  critics.  Doddridge, 
in  a  note  on  the  passage,  has  vindicated  this  construction  beyond 
reasonable  controversy.  But  even  the  other  construction,  which 
makes  the  whole  gracious  constitution  of  God  the  direct  object  of  the 
apostle's  declaration,  does  not  at  all  invalidate  the  assertion  in  the 
lecture.  For  no  one  will  deny  that  saving  faith  is  a  very  important 
part  of  that  constitution:  and,  if  the  whole  be  the  gift  of  God,  then 
certainly  this  part  with  the  rest.  But  the  same  truth  is  clearly  taught 
in  other  passages — see  the  references  in  Scott's  Family  Bible. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  291 

he  needs,  tells  him  of  it,  and  tells  him  he  must  ask  for 
it,  and  promises,  if  he  suitably  asks,  he  shall  not  fail 
to  receive  it;  and  warns  him,  too,  not  to  think  he  can 
do  the  cnmmanded  duty  without  the  provided  help, 
and  forbids  him  so  much  as  to  attempt  it,  by  his  own 
unassisted  exertions.  Now  this  is  the  very  case  be- 
fore us.  It  is  a  solemn  and  important  truth,  which 
ought  never  to  be  disguised  or  forgotten,  that  we  are 
utterly  unable,  by  our  own  unassisted  powers,  either 
to  believe  or  repent,  to  the  saving  of  our  souls.  "  No 
man,"  said  the  Saviour,  "can  come  to  me,  except  the 
Father  which  hath  sent  me  draw  him — without  me 
ye  can  do  nothing."  And  the  inspired  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  says,  "work  out  your  own  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling,  for  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure."  Yes, 
and  if  it  had  not  been  the  office  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in 
the  economy  of  our  salvation,  to  work  faith  and  re- 
pentance in  the  sinful  human  soul,  it  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether  God  would  ever  have  commanded 
any  sinner  either  to  believe  or  to  repent — for  God 
never  trifles,  never  requires  a  man  to  do  by  his  own 
powers,  what  he  knows  cannot  be  done  without  spe- 
cial divine  assistance.  But  in  the  official  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  God  has  not  only  provided  all  needed 
assistance  in  the  most  ample  manner,  and  informed 
us  of  the  fact,  but  has  graciously  promised  this  as- 
sistance to  all  who  suitably  ask  it — nay,  he  most  ear- 
nestly invites  and  importunately  urges  us  to  ask,  that 
we  may  receive  it.  Hear  the  words  of  the  Son  of 
God  himself — "  If  ye  then  being  evil  know  how  to 
give  good  gifts  unto  your  children;  how  much  more 
shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
them  that  ask  him?"  and  this  solemn  interrogatory, 
carrying  all  the  force  of  the  most  explicit  declaration, 
is  introduced  by  an  appeal  to  parents,  that,  evil  as 
they  might  be,  they  would  not  mock  the  earnest  cries 
of  their  children  for  food,  with  something  that  was 
not  food;  and  thence,  drawing  the  conclusion  with 
the  utmost  force,  that  God  our  heavenly  Father  would 
not  thus  mock  any  who  should  earnestly  ask  the  Holy 


292  LECTURES     ON      THE 

Spirit:  and  the  whole  passage  is  introduced  by  un- 
equivocal and  reiterated  promises — "I  say  unto  you, 
ask  and  it  shall  be  given  you ;  seek  and  ye  shall  find; 
knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you:  For  every 
one  that  asketh  receiveth,  and  he  that  seeketh  findeth ; 
and  to  hiui  that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened."  Now, 
my  dear  young  friends,  here  is  your  duty;  you  are 
called  to  believe  in  Christ  and  to  exercise  repentance 
unto  life:  But  you  are  not  called,  but  forbidden,  to 
attempt  this  duty  in  your  own  strength;  you  are  to 
attempt  it,  and  that  without  a  moment's  delay;  but 
you  are  to  call  for  assistance  from  God  at  every  step; 
you  are  constantly  to  pray  and  plead  for  the  needed 
and  promised  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  you  are  to  be 
both  importunate  and  persevering,  like  one  who  fol- 
lows asking  with  seeking,  and  seeking  with  knock- 
ing— resolved  to  take  no  denial  till  the  door  of  mercy 
is  opened  to  you — till  by  the  aid  of  the  good  Spirit  of 
God,  you  are  enabled  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  with  all  the  heart,  and  to  exercise  that  "  re- 
pentance which  is  unto  salvation,  and  needeth  not  to 
be  repented  of."  A  falser  notion  cannot  be  named 
than  that  which  some  entertain  and  teach,  that  the 
sense  of  entire  dependence  on  God  for  ability  to  be- 
lieve and  repent,  will  seal  men  up  either  in  security 
or  despair.  This  might,  indeed,  be  the  case,  if  God 
had  not  provided  and  authorized  us  to  ask  for  the 
needed  aid.  But  this  being  known  to  be  the  fact,  the 
very  opposite  of  the  notion  I  condemn  is  the  truth,  as 
all  experience  demonstrates.  In  any  case  whatso- 
ever, let  a  man  feel  his  entire  helplessness  in  himself, 
and  know  that  effectual  help  may  be  obtained  by 
earnest  entreaty;  and  then,  just  in  proportion  to  his 
felt  sense  of  inherent  inability,  and  the  importance  of 
the  interest  at  stake,  or  the  danger  of  the  state  in 
which  he  is  placed,  v/ill  be  the  urgency  of  his  en- 
treaty— the  agonizing  cry  that  he  will  utter,  that  he 
may  receive  help,  and  receive  it  speedily,  from  one 
who  can  bring  it  to  him.  The  sinner  who  is  actually 
brought  to  feel  most  sensibly  that  he  cannot  save 
himself,  will  cry  with  all  the  anxious  earnestness  of 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  293 

sinking  Peter — "  Lord,  save  me  or  I  perish.''  And 
when  brought  to  this  point — a  point  to  which  I  most 
benevolently  wish  every  soul  that  hears  me  were 
brought  at  this  moment — help  will  soon  be  found. 
Yes,  my  dear  youth,  and  you  are  not  likely  to  find 
help  till  you  are  really  brought  to  this  point.*  God 
will  make  you  feel  that  he  must  do  something  for 
you  that  you  cannot  do  for  yourselves;  and  when  he 
has  made  you  feel  this  very  sensibly,  and  brought 
you  to  cast  yourselves  on  his  mercy  as  perishing  sin- 
ners, he  will  then  "  work  in  you  to  will  and  to  do 
of  his  good  pleasure,  and  the  work  of  faith  with 
power." — You  will  believe  with  all  your  heart  to  the 
saving  of  your  souls;  and  will  know  too  those  deep 
relentings  of  soul  for  all  sin,  and  most  of  all  for  the 
sin  of  unbelief,  in  which  consists  that  repentance 
which  is  unto  life.  May  God  of  his  mercy  bring 
you  all  to  know  this  experimentally,  and  to  know  it 
speedily.     Amen  and  Amen. 

*  It  seems  truly  marvellous  that  some  ministers  of  relig'ion — are 
they  really  ministers  of  the  gospel  1 — explicitly  admit  the  truth  of 
what  is  here  asserted,  and  yet  never  preach  it;  assigning-  for  reason, 
that  it  is  best  to  let  sinners  find  it  out  of  themselves.  Alas  !  is  it  not 
to  be  feared  that  they  may  never  find  it  out  of  themselves?  especially 
when  they  are  told,  as  these  teachers  tell  them,  that  tliey  have  a  per- 
fect ability  in  themselves,  without  any  special  help  from  God,  to  do 
all  that  he  requires.  This  seems  far  more  calculated  to  produce  de- 
lay in  turning  unto  God,  than  the  doctrine  which  teaches  an  entire 
dependauce  on  him.  That  which  can  be  done  without  his  special  aid 
at  any  time,  they  are  far  more  likely  to  postpone  for  the  present  time, 
than  if  they  are  made  to  believe,  as  the  fact  certainly  is,  that  every 
delay  grieves  the  Spirit  of  grace,  and  subjects  the  soul  to  the  awful 
danger  of  final  dereliction,  and  to  certain  perdition  as  the  conse- 
;  quence.  The  doctrine  of  human  ability,  and  the  sinfulness  of  all  un- 
:  regenerate  doings,  as  taught  in  many  churches  in  our  land,  has,  it  is 
j  believed,  done  great  injury  to  the  souls  of  men.  We  would  be  as  far 
as  any  from  teaching  that  any  holy  act  is  performed  by  an  unregene- 
rate  sinner.  But  we  maintain  that  he  is  to  essay  holy  acts,  before  he 
has  any  evidence  of  a  renewed  heart.  This  we  think,  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  Bible,  and  if  so,  we  care  little  what  is  the  doctrine  of  metaphy- 
sics. Did  not  Peter  tell  Simon  the  sorcerer  to  pray,  when  there  was 
only  a  perhaps  he  might  be  forgiven? — Yes,  it  is  said,  but  he  was 
commanded  first  to  repent,  and  then  to  pray.  But  after  true  repent- 
ance, there  would  have  been  no  perhaps  that  he  would  be  forgiven. 
He  was  plainly  commanded  to  attempt  both  duties  at  once,  and  im- 
mediately. 


294  LECTURES     ON     THE 


LECTURE  LX. 


In  the  former  part  of  this  course  of  lectures,  when 
treating  of  justification,  adoption,  and  sanctification, 
and  on  the  offices  executed  by  Christ  as  our  Re- 
deemer, it  was  found  necessary  to  explain,  to  some 
extent,  the  nature  of  saving  faith,  and  of  repentance 
unto  life;  without  this,  it  would  have  been  impracti- 
cable to  do  any  justice  to  the  subjects  then  discussed. 
But  faith  and  repentance  are  of  such  vital  importance 
in  the  economy  of  redeeming  mercy;  they  enter  so 
intimately  and  extensively  into  all  the  gracious  exer- 
cises of  the  true  believer,  that  they  justly  claim  a  par- 
ticular and  formal  treatment;  and  we  accordingly  find 
a  distinct  notice  and  description  of  them  in  the  un- 
rivalled summary  of  theological  truth  contained  in 
our  Catechism.  The  first  of  these  graces  is  thus  de- 
fined, in  the  answer  which  is  to  be  the  subject  of  the 
present  lecture — "Faith  in  Jesus  Christ  is  a  saving 
grace,  whereby  we  receive  and  rest  upon  him  alone 
for  salvation,  as  he  is  offered  to  us  in  the  gospel." 

Faith,  it  is  important  to  remark  and  remember,  is 
a  term  of  various  signification  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
The  whole  of  these  I  shall  not  enumerate,  as  such  an 
enumeration  is  not  necessary  to  my  present  purpose. 
You  may  find  them  all  mentioned  by  Cruden  in  his 
Concordance,  under  the  word  Faith,  and  it  may  be 
useful  to  examine  them  at  your  leisure.  He  specifies, 
as  all  the  systematic  writers  do,  four  principal  senses 
of  the  term,  which  we  shall  notice  distinctly. 

I.  Historical  or  doctrinal  faith.  This  is  a  simple 
assent  to  the  truths  of  Divine  revelation,  both  histori- 
cal and  doctrinal;  which  is  yielded  by  many,  proba- 
bly by  the  most  of  those  who  have  received  a  religi- 
ous education.  Of  those  who  are  embraced  in  this 
description,  some  may  take  more  interest  than  others 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  295 

in  the  contents  of  the  sacred  vohime;  but  so  long  as 
none  of  them  have  more  than  a  speculative  or  intel- 
lectual conviction  of  its  truths,  they  have  nothing  be- 
yond what   the  apostle  James  denominates  a  dead 

faith,  and  which  he  tells  us  the  devils  possess  as  tru- 
ly as  they — "  the  devils  believe  and  tremble."  It 
has  been  justly  remarked,  that  persons  of  this  cha- 
racter give  their  attention  chiefly  to  those  things  in 
the  volume  of  inspiration  which  interfere  the  least 
with  their  sinful  passions,  and  occasion  the  least  dis- 
turbance to  their  consciences  in  a  carnal  and  unre- 
generate  state.  Yet  even  this  intellectual  knowledge 
and  reception  of  biblical  truth,  may  have  considera- 

iLle  influence  in  restraining  men  from  gross  vice;  and 
n  may  be  found  of  great  practical  benefit,  if  they  are 
ever  brought  to  make  serious  business  of  religion; 
but  unless  what  they  know  and  assent  to  as  true, 
shall  reach  deeper  than  their  understanding  and  judg- 
ment, it  will  not  save  their  souls,  but  aggravate  their 
final  condemnation. 

i  II.  There  is  a  temporary  faith — which  not  only 
receives  the  truths  of  Scripture,  but,  as  our  Saviour 
teaches  in  the  parable  of  the  sower,  "  receives  them 
with  joy;"  that  is.  Divine  truth  produces  a  sudden 
and  powerful  effect  on  the  natural  affections  of  these 
"  stony  ground  hearers."  They  appear  for  a  time  to 
be  earnestly  engaged  in  religion,  and  may  perhaps 
show  more  warmth  and  zeal  than  the  true  disciples 
of  Christ;  nay,  even  upbraid  them  for  their  coldness 
and  want  of  activity  in  the  cause  of  God.  Yet  after 
all,  the  root  of  the  matter  is  not  in  them — "  He  hath 
not  root  in  himself,  (saith  the  Saviour,)  but  dureth 
for  a  while;  for  when  tribulation  or  persecution 
ariseth  because  of  the  word,  by  and  by  he  is  offend- 
ed."   Instances  of  this  temporary  faith  are  numerous 

■  and  mournful.  In  great  revivals  of  religion  especial- 
ly, when  there  is  much  that  is  calculated  to  awaken 
the  sympathy  and  excite  the  passions  of  men,  there 
are  commonly  a  considerable  number  who  deceive 

j  both  themselves  and  others,  with  an  apparent  en- 
gagedness  and  zeal  in  religion,  which  proves  to  be 


296  LECTURES     OX     THE 

only  transient.  This  has  raised  a  prejudice  in  some 
minds  against  all  religious  revivals.  But  it  is  surely 
an  unjustifiable  prejudice.  "  What  is  the  chaff  to  the 
wheat,  saith  the  Lord?"  Great  harvests  of  souls  are 
gathered  into  the  garner  of  life  eternal  in  these  revi- 
vals— notwithstanding  the  instances  of  backsliding 
and  apostasy  which  too  often  follow  them.  But  the 
danger  there  is  lest  men  take  up  with  something  for 
religion  which  will  not  stand  the  test  of  time  and 
temptation,  does  certainly  furnish  a  most  cogent  rea- 
son, why  the  utmost  care  should  be  taken  to  prevent 
so  deplorable  and  fatal  a  mistake.  It  is  a  reason  why 
there  should  be  much  sound  and  discriminating  doc- 
trinal preaching  and  instruction,  in  times  of  revivaU 
why  ministers  and  others  who  converse  with  inqui^ 
ing  souls,  should  treat  them  with  great  fidelity,  min- 
gled with  great  tenderness;  and  why  an  open  and 
formal  profession  of  religion  should  not  be  precipi- 
tated, but  delayed  till  there  has  been  some  suitable 
period  for  the  probation  of  those  who  hope  they  have 
passed  from  death  unto  life.  The  truth  is,  that  it  is 
no  easy  matter  for  any  man  to  discriminate  at  once, 
either  in  himself  or  others,  between  truly  gracious 
affections  and  their  various  counterfeits.  I  am  ready 
to  think  that  any  one  will  be  effectually  convinced  of 
this,  who  will  read  with  care  the  excellent  treatise  of 
President  Edwards  on  this  subject,  which  he  wrote 
in  consequence  of  the  great  revival  that  he  witnessed 
in  the  former  part  of  his  ministry,  and  which  he  was 
greatly  instrumental  both  in  promoting  and  defend- 
ing. It  has  been  justly  remarked — and  the  fact  is 
enough  to  make  both  ministers  and  people  tremble- 
that  when  persons  have  apparently  gone  far  and  felt 
much  in  religion,  whether  in  revivals  or  at  other 
times,  and  then  fail  away,  and  become  careless  and 
insensible,  they  are  the  least  likely  of  all  men,  to  be 
ever  awakened  or  softened  afterwards.  They  seem 
to  be  examples  of  that  awful  dereliction,  so  feart\illy 
described  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews. 

I  must  here  remark,  that  it  is  not  merely  in  times 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  297 

of  persecufion  for  religion,  or  when  those  who  pro- 
fess it  suffer  opposition,  shame,  and  reproach,  that  a 
faith  which  is  not  sound  and  saving  betrays  itself. 
Without  the  occurrence  of  any  thing  of  this  kind, 
there  may  be  a  gradual  subsiding  of  those  spurious 
affections  and  feelings  which  were  once  so  ardent, 
and  which  were  mistaken  for  the  evidences  of  a  re- 
newed heart;  and  the  subject  of  them,  under  no  other 
influence  than  that  of  a  carnal  and  worldly  spirit, 
may,  in  the  strong  language  of  the  apostle  Peter, 
"return  as  a  dog  to  his  von)it,  and  as  the  sow  that 
was  washed  to  her  wallowing  in  the  mire."  Nor 
have  we  any  reason  to  doubt,  that  the  kind  of  faith 
of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  although  in  this 
instance  it  may  not  strictly  be  called  temporary,  will 
delude  many,  till  the  delusion  vanishes  in  the  light  of 
eternity.  Hence  the  solemn  warning  of  the  Saviour 
himself — "Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate:  for 
many,  I  say  unto  you,  will  seek  to  enter  in,  and  shall 
not  be  able.  When  once  the  master  of  the  house  is 
risen  up,  and  hath  shut  to  the  door,  and  ye  begin  to 
stand  without,  and  to  knock  at  the  door,  saying. 
Lord,  Lord,  open  unto  us:  and  he  shall  answer  and 
say  unto  you,  I  know  you  not  whence  ye  are:  then 
shall  ye  begin  to  say.  We  have  eaten  and  drunk  in 
thy  presence,  and  thou  hast  taught  in  our  streets. 
But  he  shall  say,  I  tell  you,  I  know  you  not  whence 
you  are;  depart  from  me,  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity." 

III.  The  faith  of  miracles  is  mentioned  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  The  exercise  of  this  faith  was  confined 
as  we  believe,  to  the  primitive  church.  It  consisted 
in  a  firm  belief  that  the  possessor  of  it  would,  by  the 
power  of  God  accompanying  his  act,  be  able  to  per- 
form a  miracle  himself;  or  that,  by  the  same  power, 
he  would  become  the  subject  of  one,  wrought  in  his 
favour.  We  have  examples  of  both  these  kinds  of 
miraculous  faith,  clearly  recorded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. To  the  first,  there  is  a  reference  when  our 
Saviour  said,  (Matt.  xvii.  20,)  "Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  if  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  ye 
shall  say  unto  this  mountain,  remove  hence  to  yonder 

VOL.  II. — 20 


< 


} 


298  LECTURES     ON     THE 

place,  and  it  shall  remove;  and  nothing  shall  be  im- 
possible unto  you."  Of  the  second  kind,  we  have 
an  example  in  the  lame  man  at  Lystra,  in  regard  to 
whom  it  is  said  (Acts  xiv.  9,  10,)  "The  same  heard 
Paul  speak;  who  steadfastly  beholding  him,  and  per- 
ceiving that  he  had  faith  to  be  healed,  said  with  a 
loud  voice.  Stand  upright  on  thy  feet,  and  he  leaped 
and  walked."  In  like  manner  our  Lord  said  to  two 
blind  men  (Matt.  ix.  29,  30,)  "according  to  your  faith 
be  it  unto  you,  and  their  eyes  were  opened."  We 
might  be  ready  to  suppose  that  this  faith  would  be 
found  only  in  eminently  holy  persons,  and  doubtless 
it  was  possessed  by  a  number  of  such,  in  the  first  age 
of  the  church;  but  we  have  unquestionable  evidence 
that  it  was  not  confined  to  sanctified  men.  The 
apostle  Paul  says  (1  Cor.  xiii.  2,)  "  Though  I  have 
all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove  mountains,  and  have 
not  charity,  I  am  nothing."  And  our  blessed  Lord 
expressly  declares  (Matt.  vii.  22,  23,)  "  Many  will 
say  unto  me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not 
prophesied  in  thy  name?  and  in  thy  name  have  cast 
out  devils,  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful 
works?  and  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  I  never 
knew  you,  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity." 
By  this  singular  dispensation  it  would  appear,  as  in- 
deed the  apostle  seems  to  intimate  in  the  chapter  to 
which  I  have  referred,  that  it  was  the  design  of  God 
to  give  a  conspicuous  proof,  that  the  most  shining 
gifts  were  valueless — were  absolutely  nothing — in 
the  matter  of  our  salvation,  without  the  simple  prin- 
ciple of  love  to  God  and  rnaii,  which  the  humblest 
and  most  obscure  believer  might  as  certainly  and  fully 
possess,  as  those  who  were  the  most  distinguished  in 
the  church;  yea, might  possess  what  they  might  lack, 
and  lack  to  their  eternal  undoing. 

You  are  aware  that  the  papists  maintain  that  mira- 
culous powers  are  still  possessed  and  exercised  in 
their  church:  and  the  credulity  with  which  the  "lying 
wonders"  which  they  have  recorded,  have  been  re- 
ceived by  the  devotees  of  that  communion,  is  truly 
astonishing.     But  I  am  sorry  to  observe,  that  the  pre- 


% 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  299 

tence  of  working  miracles  is,  at  this  very  time,  set 
up  by  some  individuals  in  the  protestant  churches, 
both  of  England  and  Scotland.  May  such  pretences 
never  be  made  in  our  country.  They  are  unques- 
tionably delusive,  and  in  the  event,  highly  injurious 
to  true  religion :  And  were  they  even  capable  of  being 
sustained,  you  have  just  heard  of  what  the  apostle,  in 
the  context  of  the  chapter  referred  to,  declares  to  be 
"a  more  excellent  way."  Let  the  love  of  God  fill 
your  liearts  and  shine  forth  in  your  lives,  and  you 
have  something  far  more  excellent  and  desirable  than 
the  working  of  miracles — which,  having  answered 
their  design,  in  the  establishment  of  the  infant  Chris- 
tian church,  have  long  since  entirely  ceased. 

I  have  gone  at  some  length  into  a  consideration  of 
what  may  be  called  the  negative  part  of  our  subject — 
showing  what  kinds  of  faith  arc  not  saving;  because 
this  is  the  only  place  in  our  system,  in  which  the 
statement  you  have  heard  could  properly  be  made, 
if  made  at  all;  and  because  I  think  it  is  calculated,  if 
rightly  considered,  to  be  practically  and  highly  useful. 
Let  us  now  attend  to  a  direct  illustration  of  the  an- 
swer before  us. 

IV.  There  is  a  justifying  faith,  or  a  faith  which, 
in  the  answer  of  the  Catechism  now  under  conside- 
ration, is  called  a  saving  grace.  In  treating  of  this 
grace,  I  shall  endeavour  to  bring  the  several  clauses 
of  the  answer  before  us  under  the  four  following  par- 
ticulars— 

\.  The  object  of  saving  faith — Jesus  Christ,  as  he 
is  offered  in  the  gospel. 

2.  The  author  of  faith — God  in  Christ,  working  by 
his  Spirit  a  saving  grace  in  the  human  soul. 

3.  The  nature  and  acts  of  faith — receiving  and  rest- 
ing on  Christ  alone  for  salvation. 

4.  Some  of  the  consequences,  fruits,  or  effects  of 
saving  faith. 

We  are  first  to  consider  the  object  of  saving  faith. 
This,  although  mentioned  last  in  the  short  definition 
of  the  Catechism,  must  manifestly  take  precedence 
of  every  thing  else,  in  an  orderly  view  of  our  import- 


\ 


300  LECTURES    ON     THE 

ant  subject.  Faith,  it  is  plain,  must  always  imply  an 
object;  that  is,  something  to  be  believed;  and  this  ob- 
ject, it  is  equally  clear,  must  be  distinctly  apprehended, 
in  order  to  a  rational  and  unwavering  faith  or  belief. 

The  whole  revealed  will  of  God,  so  far  as  it  is 
known  and  understood,  is  the  general  object  of  that 
faith  which  is  unto  salvation.  God  speaks  in  his 
word,  as  recorded  in  the  Bible;  and  he  who  under- 
standingly  disbelieves  any  word  that  God  has  spoken, 
is  chargeable  with  the  awful  sin  of  making  him  a  liar, 
and  certainly  can  have  no  faith  that  is  saving.  It  is 
not,  however,  essential  to  salvation,  however  desira- 
ble in  itself,  that  the  whole  of  revealed  truth,  as  it  is 
now  contained  in  the  Bible,  should  be  known  and 
believed.  The  people  of  God  at  first  had  no  wrhten 
revelation;  and  for  a  series  of  ages  they  had  but  a 
small  part  of  what  we  now  possess.  Even  at  the 
present  time,  the  heathen,  to  whom  the  gospel  is  car- 
ried by  the  missionaries,  and  many  of  whom  appear 
to  receive  its  saving  benefit,  have,  at  first,  nothing 
but  oral  teaching;  and  for  a  considerable  time  after 
being  taught  to  read,  they  have  only  a  few  detached 
parts  of  the  sacred  volume.  Nor  is  it,  we  believe, 
fatal  to  salvation,  when,  through  mistake  or  imperfect 
information,  some  apparently  good  and  honest  men 
do  not  receive  as  canonical  Scripture,  a  portion  of  that 
which  is  really  so.  Luther,  at  least  for  a  time,  was 
disposed  to  exclude  the  epistle  of  James  from  the 
sacred  canon;  and  till  that  canon  was  finally  esta- 
blished on  good  evidence,  several  books  of  the  New 
Testament  were  not  received,  by  some  of  the  primi- 
tive churches.  But  when  men  possess,  or  may  easily 
obtain,  clear  evidence  that  any  portion  of  the  Bible  is 
the  revealed  word  of  God,  and  yet  perseveringly  re- 
ject, or  grossly  pervert  its  plain  sense  and  meaning, 
we  believe  this  is  really  inconsistent  with  the  posses- 
sion of  saving  faith. 

But  there  is  a  special  object  of  saving  faith,  which 
may  be  summarily  expressed  by  saying,  it  is  Christ 
in  the  gospel  offer.  It  is  to  this  that  the  answer 
before  us  particularly  refers,  by  calling  it  "  faith  in 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  301 

Jesus  Christ."  But  here  we  must  take  into  view  the 
true  character,  work,  and  offices,  of  our  adorable  Re- 
deemer; and  wliat  is  required  of  the  sinner,  in  order 
fully  to  avail  himself  of  the  benefits  of  the  great  re- 
demption, set  before  him  and  offered  to  him  in  the 
gospel.  The  special  object  of  saving  faith  then,  may 
be  briefly  stated  thus — That  Christ  is  God,  the  second 
person  in  the  sacred  Trinity:  that  he  is  "  Immanuel, 
God  with  us;"  having  been,  as  to  his  human  nature, 
"conceived  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the 
womb  of  the  virgin  Mary,  and  born  of  her,  yet  with- 
out sin;"  that  he  is  thus  "  God  and  man,  in  two  dis- 
tinct natures  and  one  person  for  ever:"  that  he  ap- 
peared in  the  world,  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice 
of  himself :  that  he  fully  accomplished  the  purpose  of 
his  mission,  by  "becoming  obedient  unto  death,  even 
tjie  death  of  the  cross" — restoring  the  honours  of  God's 
law,  which  the  sins  of  men  had  violated  and  dis- 
honoured, by  rendering  a  sinless  obedience  to  it;  and 
by  fully  answering  the  penalty  of  that  law,  by  bearing 
its  curse  in  the  sufferings  of  his  whole  life,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  inconceivable  agonies  which  he  endured, 
in  what  has  been  emphatically  called  his  passioii,  and 
which  was  consummated  by  his  death  on  the  cross: 
that  he  was  entombed  and  remained  under  the  power 
of  death  for  a  time ;  then  rose  from  the  dead,  and  after 
remaining  on  earth  for  forty  days,  and  frequently  con- 
versing with,  instructing,  and  finally  commissioning 
his  disciples  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature, 
he,  in  their  presence,  ascended  triumphantly  into 
heaven,  where  he  is  made  head  over  all  things  to  his 
church — sustaining  the  mediatorial  office  between 
God  and  man,  and  being  the  great  prophet,  priest, 
and  king  of  all  his  elect  people,  and  the  appointed 
final  judge  of  the  quick  and  the  dead.  Such  is  the 
object  of  saving  faith,  in  relation  to  the  person,  work, 
and  offices  of  Christ. 

But  certain  essential  doctrines,  or  fundamental 
truths  of  the  gospel,  are  also  the  objects  of  this  faith. 
These,  indeed,  partly  consist  in  the  points  just  stated, 
and  the  viewing  of  them  as  verities  delivered  to  us 


OUZ  LECTURES     ON     THE 

by  the  word  and  authority  of  God,  and  to  be  received, 
distinctly,  because  they  are  thus  vouched  and  sanc- 
tioned. There  are,  however,  some  other  fundamental 
truths,  always  connected  with  these,  which  it  maybe 
proper  very  briefly  and  summarily  to  specify — such 
as  the  violation,  by  the  primitive  father  of  the  human 
family,  of  the  first  covenant  made  with  him  by  his 
Creator,  by  which  he  entirely  lost  the  moral  image 
of  his  Maker,  became  wholly  corrupt  and  sinful  in 
his  nature,  and  transmitted  the  same  to  all  his  poste- 
rity— so  that,  without  exception,  his  descendants  are 
conceived  in  sin  and  shapen  in  iniquity,  and  on  ac- 
count of  this  entire  native  depravity  are  declared,  by 
the  unerring  oracles  of  God,  to  be  "  by  nature  children 
of  wrath."  That  hence  it  becomes  indispensably 
necessary, that  every  child  of  Adam  should  "be  born 
again" — be  regenerated  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost;  be  brought  to  that  unfeigned  repentance  for 
sin  which  needeth  not  to  be  repented  of;  to  the  exer- 
cise of  that  faith  which  sees  in  Christ  Jesus  "  the 
Lamb  of  God  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world," 
by  assuming  the  sinner's  place  as  his  surety,  and  in 
his  behalf  satisfying  the  divine  justice,  both  in  its 
preceptive  and  penal  demands — thus  working  out  a 
righteousness,  which,  by  imputation,  becomes  the  be- 
lieving sinner's  righteousness,  so  soon  as  he  is  render- 
ed cordially  willing  to  accept  it  as  offered,  and  by 
faith  does  actually  accept  and  rely  on  it  solely,  for 
justification  before  God.  That  the  evidence  of  this 
justification  is  a  holy  life;  a  life  of  communion  with 
God,  and  an  impartial  and  persevering  regard  and  obe- 
dience to  all  his  commandments,  whether  they  relate 
to  God  or  man — the  believer  being  always  disposed, 
as  well  as  required,  to  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  his 
Saviour  in  all  things,  so  that  others  seeing  his  good 
works,  may  glorify  his  heavenly  Father:  that  he  who 
is  thus  regenerated  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  repents  of  his 
sins  sincerely,  relies  by  faith  on  Christ  and  his  righte- 
ousness alone  for  salvation,  verifies  the  genuineness 
of  his  faith  by  his  works,  and  perseveres  in  the  same 
to  the  end,  shall  assuredly  be  saved — the  truth  of  God 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  303 

being  pledged  for  the  salvation  of  every  sinner,  even 
though  he  were  the  very  chief  of  sinners,  who  in  this 
manner  passes  from  death  unto  life;  that  salvation  in 
this  form  and  manner,  is  "offered  in  the  gospel"  to 
all  men  without  exception;  that  to  proclaim  it  in  all 
its  freeness,  is  the  principal  design  of  the  gospel  mi- 
nistry; and  that  he  who  believes  it  as  thus  freely 
offered  must  not  except  himself,  but  take  it  as  a  divine 
verity,  that  to  him,  as  much  as  to  any  other  individual 
of  the  human  race,  is  "the  word  of  this  salvation 
sent."  Such  are  the  main  facts,  truths,  and  doctrines, 
which  are  the  special  objects  of  saving  faith;  and 
which  will  shortly  be  further  illustrated,  when  the 
acts  of  such  a  faith  will  call  for  your  attention. 

I  must  further  remark,  however,  before  leaving 
this  part  of  our  subject,  that  it  plainly  appears,  if 
faith  must  have  an  object,  and  its  object  comprises 
what  you  have  just  heard,  that  knowledge  is  essen- 
tial to  its  existence.  Yes,  my  young  friends,  we  are 
so  far  from  believing  that  "  ignorance  is  the  mother 
of  devotion,"  that  we  hold  there  can  be  no  true  de- 
votion without  knowledge;  and  no  genuine  faith 
without  an  understanding  of  what  we  are  required 
to  believe.  This  is  taught,  or  clearly  implied,  in 
many  plain  declarations,  both  of  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  New.  "I  knoiv  that  my  Redeemer  liveth," 
said  holy  Job.  "By  his  knowledge,'"  that  is,  the 
knowledge  of  him,  "shall  my  righteous  servant  jus- 
tify many,  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniquities;"  said  the 
evangelical  prophet  Isaiah.  "This  is  life  eternal," 
said  our  blessed  Saviour  himself,  "to  know  thee,  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jesns  Christ  whom  thou  hast 
sent,"  The  apostle  Peter  said  to  his  Divine  Master, 
"  We  believe  and  are  sure,  (tyvuxa^iv,  have  known,) 
that  thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 
And  the  apostle  John  says,  "  We  have  known  and 
believed  the  love  that  God  hath  to  us."  The  ab- 
solute impossibility  of  exercising  true  faith  without 
knowledge  is  also  unquestionably  implied,  in  the  fol- 
lowing interrogatories  of  the  apostle  Paul — "  How 
then  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom  they  have  not 


} 


304  LECTURES     ON     THE 

believed?  and  how  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom 
they  have  not  heard?  and  how  shall  they  hear  with- 
out a  preacher?"  Remember,  therefore,  my  dear 
youth,  that  you  never  can  exercise  a  saving  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  without  having  some  compe- 
tent knowledge  of  the  way  of  salvation  by  him. 

2.  We  are  to  consider  the  author  of  faith — who  is 
no  other  than  God  in  Christ,  working  by  his  Spirit  a 
saving  grace  in  the  human  soul.  Each  person  in  the 
ever  blessed  Trinity,  is  occasionally  represented  in 
holy  Scripture,  as  producing  faith  in  the  believer. 
Thus  we  are  told  in  one  place,  that  "  faith  is  the  gift 
of  God;"  in  another  that  "Jesus  is  the  author  and 
finisher  of  our  faith;"  and  in  a  third,  that  "  the  fruit 
of  the  Spirit  is — faith."  The  truth  is,  we  are  taught 
in  the  sacred  oracles  that  the  Holy  Spirit  proceeds 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  who  are  therefore  some- 
times spoken  of  as  doing  that  which  is,  in  the  imme- 
diate act,  done  by  the  Spirit;  for  in  the  economy  of 
our  salvation  it  is  the  official  ivork  of  God  the  Holy 
Ghost,  to  make  application  of  all  the  benefits  of 
Christ's  redemption  to  the  human  soul.  "  He  shall 
glorify  me/'  said  the  Divine  Saviour,  "  for  he  shall 
receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you."  Hence 
the  apostle  Peter,  speaking  to  the  saints  who  were 
scattered  abroad,  calls  them  "Elect,  according  to  the 
foreknowledge  of  God  the  Father,  through  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  Spirit,  and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ:"  and  the  apostle  Paul,  addressing  the  believ- 
ing Thessalonians,  says,  "  God  hath  from  the  begin- 
ning chosen  you  to  salvation,  through  sanctification 
of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth;  whereunto  he 
called  you  by  our  gospel,  to  the  obtaining  of  the  glory 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  And  accordingly  that 
beautifulcluster  of  Christian  graces,  "  love,  joy,  peace, 
long  suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  meekness,  and 
temperance,"  as  well  as  "faith,"  are  all  represented 
as  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  My  dear  young  friends,  I  wish 
to  impress  it  on  your  minds  that  the  gospel  dispen- 
sation, which  it  is  your  unspeakable  privilege  to  en- 
joy, is,  in  a  peculiar  degree,  a  dispensation  of  the 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  305 

Holy  Spirit — is  so  in  a  far  higher  degree  than  was  the 
Mosaic  dispensation,  which  preceded  it.  The  Spirit's 
blessed  influences  are  far  more  diffusively  and  copi- 
ously imparted,  under  the  gospel  than  under  the  law. 
You  are  therefore  called  to  honour  the  great  Sancti- 
fier;  to  feel  your  entire  and  immediate  dependance 
on  his  gracious  interposition  and  agency,  to  work  in 
your  hearts  the  grace  of  saving  faith — called  a  grace 
because  it  is  an  nnspeakable  favour,  freely  conferred 
on  the  most  unworthy — on  sinners  who  deserved  to 
have  been  left  to  perish  in  their  own  devices.  I  have 
recently  shown  you,  in  lecturing  on  the  answer  of 
the  Catechism  immediately  preceding  that  which  is 
now  before  us,  that  we  are  utterly  unable  of  our- 
selves to  exercise  faith,  or  any  other  grace — that  it  is 
God  "  who  worketh  in  us,  to  will  and  to  do  of  his 
good  pleasure."  On  the  general  truth,  therefore,  it 
would  be  only  a  repetition  to  insist  at  present.  But 
it  is  important  that  you  should  distinctly  imderstand, 
and  keep  it  constantly  in  remembrance,  that  it  is  God 
the  Holy  Ghost,  to  whose  direct  agency  you  must 
look,  and  for  which  you  must  earnestly  pray,  and  to 
whose  blessed  influence  you  must  endeavour  to  open 
your  hearts,  and  implore  him  to  come  in  with  his  al- 
mighty energy  and  aid — if  ever  you  perform  those 
acts  of  saving  faith,  which  are  to  be  described  in  the 
next  particular,  and  which  will  form  the  principal 
subject  of  the  following  lecture. 


i 


i 


306 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


LECTURE    LXL 


3.  The  nature  and  acts  of  saving  faith — receiving  and 
resting  on  Christ  alone  for  salvation — now  call  for 
your  most  serious  and  engaged  attention.  The  essen- 
tial nature,  as  well  as  one  of  the  principal  acts  of 
saving  faith,  is  very  happily  described  by  the  phrase, 
receivmg  him,  as  he  is  offered  in  the  gospel.  By  this, 
faith  is  discriminated  from  the  other  cardinal  graces. 
In  hope,  we  pleasingly  anticipate  the  possession  of  a 
future  good.  In  love,  our  atfections  delightfully  fix 
and  exercise  themselves  on  an  amiable  object.  But 
in  neither  of  these  do  we  receive  an  object,  and  ap- 
propriate it  to  ourselves.  To  do  this,  is  exclusively 
the  province  and  function  of  faith.  Its  object  has 
already  been  described — Christ  in  the  gospel  offer. 
This  object,  when  about  to  be  received  in  an  act  of 
justifying  and  saving  faith,  is  most  distinctly  perceived 
by  the  mind,  aided,  as  it  always  then  is,  by  the  Spirit 
of  all  grace.  The  soul  looks  alternately  at  its  un- 
speakable wants  and  necessities,  and  at  the  complete 
provision  which  is  made  for  them  all,  in  the  infinite 
fulness  of  Christ.  It  is  seen  that  there  is  not,  and 
cannot  be,  a  necessity  or  a  demand,  for  the  supply  of 
which  a  provision,  exactly  suited  to  it,  is  not  most 
wisely  and  amply  made.  The  offer,  too,  is  seen  to 
be  made  freely;  not  only  demanding  no  price  or  re- 
commendation, but  forbidding  all  attempts  to  bring 
any.  It  is  seen  that  the  full  salvation  tendered,  not 
only  may,  but  onust  be  accepted,  simply  and  purely 
as  a  free  gift.  The  anxious  soul,  it  may  be,  hesi- 
tates. Here  is  something  perfectly  new — of  a  kind 
like  nothing  else.  The  greatest  of  all  possible  bless- 
ings is  presented  to  the  most  undeserving;  requiring 
nothing  in  the  recipient,  but  a  sense  of  guilt,  and 
hopeless  inability  to  help  or  recommend  himself,  and 


SHORTER     CATECHISM,  307 

a  willingness  to  receive  all  that  he  needs  from  an  Al- 
mighty, all-sufficient  Saviour.  Wonder  and  admira- 
tion fill  his  soul.  He  asks  perhaps,  have  I  indeed 
nothing  to  bring?  A  single  glance  at  his  state  gives  a 
decisive  negative  answer.  He  sees  himself  destitute 
of  every  thing  but  guilt,  and  misery,  and  want.  Then, 
he  thinks,  this  ofler  exactly  suits  my  case.  It  re- 
quires nothing,  it  admits  of  nothing  meritorious  in 
me;  and  truly,  I  have  nothing — nothing  but  demerit, 
and  pollution,  and  desert  of  eternal  death.  "Oh 
blessed  Saviour!  can  it  be  true  that  thou  dost  stand 
ready  to  impute  to  me  thy  righteousness;  to  account 
as  mine,  and  to  make  over  to  me,  all  the  fulness  of 
thy  redeeming  merit,  gifts  and  graces,  if  I  be  but  wil- 
ling to  receive  them,  without  money  and  without 
price!  And  am  I  not  willing,  yea,  intensely  desirous 
to  receive  them  thus!  Searcher  of  hearts,  see  if  I  de- 
ceive not  myself — see  all  the  powers  of  my  soul  bow- 
ing in  himible  and  adoring  thankfulness,  to  accept 
thy  offer.  I  receive  it,  just  as  thou  dost  proffer  it.  I 
receive  thee,  0  my  gracious  condescending  Redeemer ! 
in  all  thy  precious  offices,  as  my  prophet,  priest,  and 
king.  I  receive  thy  atoning  sacrifice  as  the  full  expia- 
tion of  all  my  crimson  and  scarlet  sins.  1  receive  thy 
finished  righteousness  to  be  iipon  me,  as  my  justify- 
ing righteousness,  to  satisfy  all  the  demands  of  thy 
law,  and  to  ensure  me  an  acquittal  as  guiltless,  before 
the  bar  of  God — I  receive  it  as  my  title  to  eternal 
life.  I  receive  thy  Spirit  to  lead  me  into  all  truth, 
and  to  sanctify  me  in  all  my  powers.  I  receive  thee 
as  my  holy,  and  rightful  Sovereign,  to  give  me  thy 
laws  as  the  rule  of  my  duty  in  all  things;  to  reign  in 
my  soul,  to  conquer  its  corruptions,  and  subdue  it 
wholly  to  thyself;  to  protect  me  from  all  my  spiritual 
enemies;  to  order  my  whole  lot  in  life;  to  make  thy 
grace  sufficient  for  me  at  all  times;  to  sustain  me  in 
the  trying  hour  of  death;  to  own  me  as  thine  in  judg- 
ment, at  the  great  day;  and  to  make  me  a  partaker, 
with  all  thy  redeemed  people,  of  the  eternal  and  inef- 
fable bliss  of  heaven.  0  astonishing,  overwhelming 
grace!  0  condescension  and  love  unutterable!  that 


i 


i 


308  LECTURES    ON    THE 

such  blessings  should  be  conferred  on  a  wretched, 
polluted,  hell  deserving  worm  of  dust!  But  such,  0 
God!  is  thy  own  plan  of  mercy;  such  thy  way  of 
getting  glory  to  thyself;  and  to  thee  be  all  the  glory 
and  the  praise,  for  ever  and  for  ever,  amen  and 
amen."  My  dear  youth,  I  could  not  feel  contented 
to  give  you  merely  a  dry  and  doctrinal  description  of 
those  acts  of  saving  faith,  in  which  the  believing  sin- 
ner receives  Christ  his  Saviour.  I  thought  too,  that 
the  subject  would  be  best  illustrated  by  a  short  des- 
cription of  the  exercises  themselves.  Such  exercises, 
or  rather,  such  as  my  description  does  not  reach,  and 
indeed  no  language  can  adequately  express,  many  a 
believer  has  known,  on  his  first  coming,  in  a  saving 
manner,  to  Christ  Jesus;  and  often  afterward,  in  his 
spiritual  intercourse  with  his  Saviour.  Yet  you  are 
to  observe  and  carefully  remember,  that  these  high 
exercises,  however  desirable,  are  not  essential  to  the 
actings  of  saving  faith.  They  have,  I  doubt  not, 
been  but  little  known  by  some  of  the  most  sincere, 
deeply  sanctified,  and  exemplary  Christians,  Reli- 
gious sensibilities,  of  all  kinds,  depend,  not  a  little,  on 
constitutional  make,  habits  of  thought,  and  methods 
of  education,  as  well  as  on  the  sovereign  and  special 
communications  of  divine  grace.  God  adapts  the 
dispensations  of  his  Spirit,  in  a  measure,  to  our  natu- 
ral temperament,  and  the  allotments  of  his  providence, 
awarded  by  himself,  to  each  of  his  own  people. 
What  is  essential  to  these  actings  of  saving  faith  is,  a 
complete  rejection  of  all  our  own  righteousnesses  as 
filthy  rags;  an  entire  willingness  to  make  the  Saviour 
the  all  and  all  of  our  souls,  in  the  matter  of  our  salva- 
tion; a  well-pleasedness — an  unspeakable  preference 
to  be  saved  by  the  imputation  of  Christ's  righteous- 
ness, rather  than  in  any  other  way;  and  an  actual, 
hearty,  fiducial  reliance  on  his  finished  work,  as  the 
entire  ground  of  our  acceptance  with  God — accom- 
panied with  strong  desires  for  the  sanctification  of  the 
soul,  deliverance  from  all  sin,  and  conformity  of  heart 
and  life  to  the  whole  law  of  God. 

In  our  Shorter  Catechism  there  is  scarcely  a  re- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  309 

dundant  word;  and  therefore  it  is  reasonable  to  be- 
lieve that  its  fraraers  did  not  consider  the  terms,  re- 
ceiving and  resting  on  Christ,  as  entirely  synony- 
mous. They  have,  indeed,  a  closely  related,  yet  a 
somewhat  different  meaning.  Those  who  truly  re- 
ceive Christ  Jesus,  always,  in  some  measure,  rest 
upon  him;  yet  resting  upon  him  implies  not  only  a 
continuance  of  the  acts  by  which  he  is  received,  but 
di  firmness  and  stability  of  faith,  and  di  perseverance 
in  its  exercise,  which  is  something  additional  to  what 
takes  place  at  first.  "  As  ye  have  therefore  received 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,"  says  the  Apostle  Paul,  "  so 
walk  ye  in  him;  rooted  and  built  up  in  him,  and 
established  in  the  faith,  as  ye  have  been  taught, 
abounding  therein  with  thanksgiving."  The  excel- 
lent commentary  of  Scott  on  these  words  is  as  fol- 
lows: "As  they  (the  Colossians)  had  by  faith  re- 
ceived Christ  Jesus  to  be  their  Saviour,  according  to 
the  several  offices  which  he  sustained  for  the  benefit 
of  his  church,  let  them  continue  in  habitual  depend- 
ance  on  him,  and  obedience  to  him;  let  them  seek  all 
their  wisdom,  strength,  hope,  holiness,  and  comfort 
from  him,  and  aim  in  all  things  to  serve  and  glorify 
him.  Thus  being  rooted  in  him,  as  trees  in  a  fruitful 
soil,  and  builded  upon  him  as  a  house  upon  a  firm 
foundation;  and  being  established  by  living  faith  in 
him,  according  to  the  doctrine  which  they  had  been 
taught;  they  would  abound  more  and  more  in  faith, 
and  proceed  in  their  course  with  fervent  thanksgiving 
to  God  for  all  his  benefits." 

When  believers  obtain  their  first  release  from  the 
bondage  of  sin  and  fear,  by  those  lively  views  and 
actings  of  faith  which  you  have  heard  described,  they 
are  ready  to  think  that  their  difficulties  and  conflicts 
are  terminated  for  ever — that  their  mountain  now 
stands  strong,  and  that  they  shall  never  be  moved. 
Yet  rarely  indeed,  if  ever,  are  those  high  expectations 
realized.  The  vivid  views  of  faith  fade  away.  Dark- 
ness and  doubt  succeed;  and  perhaps  the  genuine- 
ness of  all  that  has  been  experienced  is  questioned; 


( 


310  LECTURES    ON    THE 

till  a  fresh  gracious  visitation,  a  renewed  lively  exer- 
cise of  faith,  restores  confidence,  and  hope,  and  peace. 
In  such  fluctuations  of  elevation  and  depression,  too 
many  real  Christians  pass  a  great  part,  and  some  per- 
haps, the  whole  of  their  lives.  They  live,  as  it  has 
been  well  said,  entirely  on  their  frames  and  feelings. 
This  ought  not  to  be  so.  Such  believers  can  hardly 
be  said  to  rest  on  Christ  alone.  They  rest,  so  far  as 
they  have  rest,  too  much  at  least,  on  the  present  state 
of  their  own  minds.  It  is  equally,  my  dear  youth, 
the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  the  child  of  God,  to  aim 
at  knowing  that  he  is  one — knowing  it  on  good  evi- 
dence, and  such  as  cannot  be  easily  taken  from  him, 
or  be  greatly  obscured.  This  is  to  be  done  by  search- 
ing the  Scriptures  to  ascertain  the  reality  of  his  gra- 
cious state,  and  by  much  prayer  for  the  illumination 
and  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  grace  and  truth;  and 
thus  getting  to  see  satisfactorily  that  he  is  really  inte- 
rested in  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  made  one  with 
Christ.  Then,  rest  on  him  alone  will  take  place. 
Frames  and  feelings  may  vary  greatly,  as  they  almost 
invariably  do,  but  the  soul  that  is  thus  brought  to 
rest  on  the  rock  Christ  Jesus,  may  see  the  waves  and 
billows  of  distress  or  temptation  breaking  around 
him,  and  at  times  seeming  to  go  over  him,  and  yet, 
though  perhaps  somewhat  shaken  and  partially  alarm- 
ed, he  will  not  be  moved  away  from  his  steadfastness. 
His  anchor  is  cast  within  the  veil,  and  he  will  ride 
out  every  storm,  without  shipwreck,  and  with  but 
little  loss.  But,  my  beloved  youth,  this  happy  state 
of  Christian  steadfastness — of  a  good  hope  through 
grace — of  an  abiding  sense  of  the  spirit  of  adoption — 
is  not  to  be  reached  without  much  inquiry,  much  self- 
examination,  real  industry  in  the  divine  life,  true  and 
frequent  communion  with  God,  a  tender  and  consci- 
entious Christian  walk,  and  a  diligent  use  of  all  the 
appointed  means  of  grace.  Need  I  ask,  is  not  the 
attainment  of  such  a  state,  worth  all  the  pains  that 
can  be  taken  to  secure  it?  Yes,  unquestionably;  and 
if  it  were  made  a  distinct  object  of  the  Chistian's  aim, 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  311 

and  the  proper  means  to  reach  it  were  faithfully  em- 
ployed, it  would  be  realized  a  thousand  times,  where 
it  is  now  seen  in  a  single  instance. 

The  question  is  frequently  asked — is  assurance  of 
the  essence  of  faith? — to  which  I  must  return  a  brief 
answer,  before  leaving  this  part  of  the  subject. 

The  Scriptures  certainly  make  a  clear  distinction 
between  a  weak  and  a  strong  faith;  and  hence  Pic- 
tet  has  well  remarked,  that  assurance  is  rather  the 
perfection  of  faith  than  its  essence.  He  asks,  how 
does  any  one  become  assured  of  the  forgiveness  of  his 
sins,  or  of  his  gracious  state?  It  is,  he  answers,  only 
by  finding,  on  a  careful  examination,  that  he  has  a 
genuine  justifying  faith.  Then,  certainly,  he  remarks, 
the  faith  which  existed  before  this  examination  took 
place,  was  a  genuine  faith,  and  yet  not  accompanied 
by  assurance.  The  truth  undoubtedly  is,  that  there 
are  many  humble  and  diffident,  but  sincere  believers, 
who  seem  never  to  have  any  thing  that  can  be  called 
the  assurance  of  faith,  or  hope,  and  this  simply  and 
solely  because  they  do  not,  or  cannot,  make  a  right 
estimate  of  tlieir  own  mental  acts  or  exercises.  They 
have  not  a  doubt  of  the  all-sufficiency  of  Christ,  not 
a  doubt  of  the  sincerity  and  freeness  of  his  offers,  and 
not  a  doubt  that  whosoever  truly  receives  and  rests 
on  Christ,  will  assuredly  be  saved.  All  that  they 
doubt  is,  whether  they  have,  for  themselves,  truly  re- 
ceived and  rested  upon  him.  They  have  done  it  in 
fact,  and  perhaps  repeated  it  a  thousand  times;  but 
they  have  doubts  and  fears  in  regard  to  this  fact,  from 
which  they  hardly  ever  get  free.  It  is  also  unques- 
tionably true,  that  many  real  Christians  have  seasons 
in  which  they  have  such  clear  views  of  the  glorious 
plan  of  redemption,  and  such  a  freedom  to  trust  them- 
selves unreservedly  into  the  hands  of  Christ,  that 
while  those  seasons  last,  all  their  doubts  and  fears 
vanish — they  can  say,  for  the  present,  that  "they 
know  in  whom  they  have  believed,  and  are  persua- 
ded that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  they  have  com- 
mitted to  him."  And  yet,  at  other  times,  these  very 
persons  shall  be  almost  ready  to  condemn  themselves 


( 


312  LECTURES     ON    THE 

as  entirely  graceless.  Nothing  but  those  reflex  acts 
heretofore  described,  and  getting  to  understand  and 
rely  on  the  unchanging  nature  of  the  covenant  of 
grace,  can  prove  a  remedy  to  these  alternations  of 
faith  and  unbelief,  of  hope  and  despondency.  It  must 
also  be  remarked,  that  those  who  have  once,  and  per- 
haps long,  possessed  a  good  hope  through  grace,  may 
lose  it  for  a  season,  through  remissness  in  duty,  the 
prevalence  of  corruption,  falling  into  some  gross  sin, 
the  violence  of  Satanic  injections,  the  occurrence  of 
bodily  melancholy,  or  the  withholding  of  those  divine 
communications  which  were  once  experienced — for 
some  reason  not  perceptible  at  the  time,  if  ever  under- 
stood in  the  present  life.  Watchfulness,  prayer,  a 
sense  of  our  dependance  on  God,  and  great  care  not 
to  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit,  are  the  important  duties 
taught  and  enforced,  by  the  possibility  of  losing  that 
blessed  confidence  toward  God,  which  is  indeed  the 
light  of  life — a  possession  for  which  there  can  be  no 
equivalent,  no  possible  compensation. 

4.  I  am  to  mention,  and  it  must  be  very  briefly, 
some  of  the  consequences,  fruits,  or  eff'ects,  of  saving 
faith.  The  first  of  these  is — the  destruction  which 
faith  effects  of  all  self-righteousness,  and  the  giving 
of  the  entire  glory  of  our  salvation  to  the  rich  and 
free  grace  of  God.  There  is  scarcely  a  point  which 
the  great  apostle  of  the  gentiles  labours  more,  or  on 
which  he  dwells  more  at  large,  than  that  our  salva- 
tion is  all  of  grace  through  faith;  that  all  ground  of 
boasting,  and  all  works,  and  all  personal  righteous- 
ness of  every  kind,  are  excluded  utterly  in  the  work 
of  justification,  which  he  attributes  solely  to  the  grace 
of  faith.  The  conclusion  which  he  draws  from  his 
long  argument  on  this  subject,  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Romans,  and  on  which  he  afterwards  dilates  most 
impressively,  is  in  these  words  (Rom.  v.  1.)  "  There- 
fore^ being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Now,  as  faith  itself 
is  a  work — a  mental  exercise  in  the  mind  of  the  be- 
liever— it  may  be,  and  has  been  objected,  that  here 
is  a  work  which  is  concerned  in   our  justification. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  313 

}  Concerned  we  admit  that  it  is;  but  only  instrumen- 
]  tally,  \VQ  affirm;  and  that  it  will  be  absolutely  im- 
;  possible  to  reconcile  the  apostle  with  himself,  if  we 
1  allow  to  faith  itself,  even  the  smallest  degree  of  meri- 
\  torious  desert,  in  the  matter  of  justification.  I  have 
elsewhere  had  occasion  to  remark,  that  faith  in  its 
best  acts  is,  like  every  other  grace,  imperfect;  and 
therefore  that  the  very  act  of  faith  by  which  a  be- 
liever is  justified,  needs  pardon  for  its  imperfection, 
instead  of  being  entitled  to  a  reward  for  its  exercise. 
The  simple  truth  is,  that  by  an  act  of  faith,  which, 
although  imperfect,  finds  acceptance  through  the  me- 
rits of  that  Saviour  to  whom  it  looks,  he  is  received 
and  appropriated,  as  a  free  and  glorious  gift  of  God's 
transcendent  grace;  every  duty,  as  well  as  every  sin, 
is  renounced  in  this  tnighty  concern;  the  crown  is 
placed  solely  on  the  Saviour's  head,  and  the  believ- 
ing sinner  lies  at  his  feet,  to  be  sprinkled  from  all  un- 
cleanness  by  his  atoning  blood,  to  be  clothed  with  the 
spotless  robe  of  his  righteousness,  to  be  sanctified  by 
his  Holy  Spirit,  and  thus,  through  his  unmingled  and 
superabounding  mercy,  to  be  made  meet  for  the  in- 
heritance of  the  saints  in  light. 

2.  It  will  ever  be  found,  as  one  of  the  precious 
fruits  or  eflfects  of  a  true  justifying  faith,  that  it  both 
comforts  and  invigorates  the  believing  soul.  That 
complete  renunciation  of  all  self-righteousness  which 
has  just  been  stated,  and  which  is  taught  in  all  that 
you  have  heard  on  this  subject,  never  leaves  the  be- 
liever in  an  abject  and  forlorn  situation.  The  re- 
nunciation which  he  makes  is  never  constrained,  or 
mingled  with  reluctance.  It  is  made  most  willingly, 
and  from  a  full  perception  and  deep  conviction,  that 
it  is  demanded  by  reason  and  equity,  as  well  as  by 
the  divine  requisition:  and  now,  having  taken  his 
proper  place — having  become  emptied  of  himself — he 
is  prepared  to  receive  from  the  fulness  of  Christ,  grace 
for  grace — to  be  filled  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  be- 
lieving. In  place  of  the  filthy  rags  of  his  own  righte- 
ousness, he  now  perceives — and  0  how  he  wonders 
while  he  perceives! — that  he  is  arrayed  in  the  righte- 

VOL.  II. — 21 


( 


314  LECTURES    ON     THE 

ousness  of  his  redeeming  God.  Instead  of  that  proud 
self-gratulation,  which  used  to  be  excited  by  some 
fancied  merit  of  his  own,  he  is  now  made  to  rejoice 
"  with  a  joy  that  is  exceedingly  great  and  full  of 
glory/'  by  the  views  which  he  is  enabled  by  the  good 
Spirit  of  the  Lord,  to  take  of  his  interest  in  the  infinite 
merits  of  his  blessed  Saviour;  and  in  feeling  the  love 
of  God  shed  abroad  in  his  heart,  producing  consola- 
tions unutterable,  and  sometimes  affording  a  preliba- 
tion  of  the  felicity  of  heaven.  My  dear  young  friends, 
I  am  not  delivering  to  you  the  fictions  of  fancy,  or 
truths  merely  speculative.  No,  verily;  they  are  truths 
both  solid  and  practical.  Every  exercised  Christian 
will  cheerfully  testify,  that  the  highest  happiness  he 
ever  knows  on  earth  is  experienced,  when  he  is  most 
emptied  of  himself,  and  drinks  most  freely  and  largely 
from  the  fountain  of  his  Redeemer's  plenitude.  He 
will  tell  you,  too,  with  the  apostle  Paul,  that  "  when 
he  is  weak,  then  is  he  strong."  That  he  never  at- 
tempts duty  with  so  much  alacrity,  nor  performs  it 
with  so  much  vigour  and  so  much  effect,  as  when 
feeling  most'  his  own  insufficiency,  he  goes  to  its  dis- 
charge, leaning  most  sensibly  on  his  Saviour — trust- 
ing in  his  strength  for  the  performance,  and  looking 
to  his  power  to  crown  his  efforts  with  success. 

3.  One  of  the  consequences  of  a  true  justifying  faith, 
will  always  be  seen  in  its  tendency  to  increase  every 
other  Christian  grace,  and  to  render  the  believer  fruit- 
-ful  in  holiness,  and  in  all  good  works.  Faith  may  be 
called  the  foundation  of  grace.  It  is  alone  in  the  work 
of  justification;  but  it  is  never  alone  in  the  soul  where 
it  exists;  but  is  always  associated  with  genuine  re- 
pentance, a  lively  hope,  a  fervent  love,  and  a  deep 
humility;  and  its  natural  tendency  to  increase  all  these 
graces  is  obvious.  Never  is  repentance  so  evangelical 
and  so  tender,  as  when  faith  takes  her  clearest  look 
at  the  desert  of  sin  in  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  sees  its 
enormity  and  its  pardon  in  a  single  view;  never  can 
hope  be  so  lively  and  cheering  as  when  faith  lays  her 
firmest  hold  on  the  Saviour's  unfailing  covenant;  never 
can  love  to  God,  and  love  to  man  be  so  pure  and 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  315 

active,  as  when  faith  brings  into  view  all  the  loveli- 
ness of  Jehovah's  attributes,  and  especially  the  love 
of  God  in  the  gift  of  his  son  to  a  guilty  and  perishing 
world;  and  when  the  Saviour's  dying  love,  prayer  for 
his  enemies  with  his  expiring  breath,  and  his  command 
to  love  the  brethren,  to  forgive  as  we  hope  to  be  for- 
given, and  to  do  good  to  all  men  as  opportunity  offers, 
are,  by  faith,  brought  home  to  the  believer's  heart: 
and  never  is  humility  so  perfect,  so  unaffected,  and  so 
amiable,  as  when  in  the  bright  visions  of  faith  the 
Christian  sees  the  condescension  of  his  Redeemer, 
drinks  most  largely  into  his  spirit,  and  desires  most 
earnestly  to  walk  in  his  footsteps. 

"  Show  me  thy  faith  by  thy  works,'*  said  the  apos- 
tle James.  Genuine  faith  will  always  abide  this  test; 
nay,  just  in  proportion  as  faith  is  pure  and  vigorous, 
will  the  believer  be  ready  to  every  good  word  and 
work.  I  have  no  time  at  present  to  illustrate  this  by 
argument;  but  facts  are  better  than  arguments.  In 
whom,  I  ask,  have  been  seen,  the  best  and  brightest, 
and  most  lovely  examples,  of  all  social  and  relative 
duties?  In  none,  I  affirm  without  hesitation  or  re- 
serve— in  none  have  they  ever  been  observed  to 
cluster  more  conspicuously,  or  to  shine  more  benig- 
nantly,  than  in  the  decided  advocates  and  practical 
exhibitors  of  this  very  doctrine  of  justification  solely 
by  faith,  through  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  To  the 
names  of  Howard  and  Thornton,  I  could  add  very 
many,  both  of  the  living  and  the  dead;  but  observe 
them  for  yourselves,  my  dear  youth,  both  in  your 
reading  and  in  your  intercourse  with  the  world;  and 
may  the  Spirit  of  all  grace  add  you  to  the  number  of 
those  who,  through  the  influence  of  the  faith  which 
you  have  heard  described,  shall  adorn  the  doctrine 
of  God  our  Saviour  in  all  things.  Amen. 


316 


LECTURES      ON      THE 


LECTURE  LXII. 


In  the  present  lecture  we  are  to  enter  on  the  conside- 
ration of  the  grace  of  repentance.  It  is  thus  defined 
in  our  '^atechism — "  Repentance  unto  Hfe  is  a  saving 
grace,  whereby  a  sinner,  out  of  a  true  sense  of  his  sin, 
and  apprehension  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  doth, 
with  grief  and  hatred  of  his  sin,  turn  from  it  unto 
God,  with  full  purpose  of,  and  endeavour  after,  new 
obedience." 

This  admirable  answer  to  the  question,  "  What  is 
repentance  unto  life?"  cannot  perhaps  be  illustrated 
more  properly  than  by  making  its  words  and  phrases, 
just  as  they  stand,  the  subject  of  remark.  Pursuing 
this  method,  I  observe,  that  the  words  "repeiuance 
unto  life  is  a  saving  grace,"  were  probably  intended 
to  refer  to  two  things;  the  first  of  which  is,  that  there 
is  a  repentance  which  is  not  unto  life;  or  to  distinguish 
genuine  evangelical  repentance,  from  that  legal  re- 
pentance, or  mere  compunction  of  conscience,  which 
the  guilty  often  feel,  but  which  is  attended  by  no 
lasting  and  beneficial  effects.  Natural  conscience 
seems  necessarily  to  suppose,  and  to  refer  to  a  su- 
preme and  omniscient  Being,  who  will  punish  the 
transgressors  of  his  laws.  While  this  principle  there- 
fore retains  any  measure  of  sensibility,  (for  we  read 
of  some  •'  whose  conscience  is  seared  with  a  hot  iron") 
there  will  be  self  condemnation  and  fear  of  punish- 
ment, when  an  individual  is  conscious  of  having  vio- 
lated the  commands  of  God.  Hence  blasphemers, 
and  other  flagrant  sinners,  when  their  lives  are  placed 
in  imminent  danger,  and  speedy  death  seems  to 
threaten  them,  are  often  filled  with  great  fear,  and 
sometimes  with  remorse  and  anguish  of  spirit,  of  the 
most  fearful  kind.  They  forbear  iheir  impieties,  per- 
haps attempt  prayer,  and  ask  the  prayers  of  others. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM 


317 


profess  repentance  and  sorrow  for  their  sins,  and  it 
may  be,  make  solemn  resolutions,  promises,  and  vows 
of  reformation,  or  of  leading  a  new  life,  if  they  may 
only  be  spared  to  have  the  opportunity  of  doing  it. 
But  remove  the  danger,  and  permanent  reformation 
seldom  takes  place.  Sometimes  they  return  to  their 
former  profligacy  as  soon  as  the  peril  of  life  ceases, 
and  in  most  instances  all  their  reformation  "  is  as  a 
morning  cloud,  and  as  the  early  dew  it  goeth  away." 
There  are  other  cases,  indeed,  in  which  a  legal  re- 
pentance is  more  lasting.  Providential  dispensations, 
the  hearing  of  solemn  sermons,  tlie  efl:ects  of  religious 
education,  excitement  produced  by  seeing  others  awa- 
kened in  a  revival  of  religion,  and  the  real,  and  for  a 
time  the  powerful  strivings  of  the  Spirit  of  grace, 
make  those  whose  case  we  now  contemplate,  deeply 
feel  their  guilt  and  their  danger.  Outward  reforma- 
tion takes  place,  real  and  anxious  concern  for  the 
salvation  of  the  soul  is  experienced,  the  means  of 
grace  are  sought  and  carefully  used,  even  secret  sins 
are  partially  forsaken  and  watched  against;  and  yet 
repentance  unto  life  never  takes  place.  Very  many 
of  those  who  are  thus  exercised,  like  those  who,  in 
our  Saviour's  parable  of  the  sower,  received  the  seed 
in  stony  ground,  or  among  thorns,  fall  away  in  a  time 
of  temptation,  or  else  the  wealth,  and  cares,  and  pur- 
suits of  the  world,  choke,  and  ultimately  extinguish, 
all  their  religious  sensibility,  and  leave  them  as  care- 
less of  their  eternal  interests,  perhaps  more  so,  than 
they  were  before  they  were  alarmed.  In  other  in- 
stances, this  kind  of  repentance  is  taken  for  conver- 
sion; is  put  for  justification,  in  place  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ;  and  religion  is  professed  and  its  forms 
are  observed,  while  the  power  of  godliness  is  never 
known;  and  these  unhappy  subjects  of  delusion  perish 
at  last,  with  a  lie  in  their  right  hand.  Hear  the  solemn 
warning  of  the  Saviour  himself: — "  Strive  to  enter  in 
at  the  strait  gate:  for  many,  I  say  unto  you,  will  seek 
to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be  able.  When  once  the 
master  of  the  house  is  risen  up,  and  hath  shut  to  the 
door,  and  ye  begin  to  stand  without,  and  to  knock  at 


318  LECTURES     ON     THE 

the  door,  saying,  Lord,  Lord,  open  unto  us;  and  he 
shall  answer  and  say  unto  you,  I  know  you  not 
whence  ye  are:  then  shall  ye  begin  to  say,  we  have 
eaten  and  drunk  in  thy  presence,  and  thou  hast  taught 
in  our  streets.  But  he  shall  say,  I  tell  you,  I  know 
you  not  whence  ye  are;  depart  from  me,  all  ye  work- 
ers of  iniquity." 

The  whole  of  the  legal  repentance  of  which  I  have 
just  been  speaking,  is  made  up  of  fear,  self-righteous- 
ness, and  unbelief  The  law  of  God,  though  greatly 
feared,  is  never  loved,  but  really  hated;  his  own  ex- 
ercises, acts,  and  doings,  form  the  ground  of  the  legal- 
ist's expectation  of  propitiating,  and  rendering  him- 
self acceptable  to  his  Maker;  while  unbelief  discredits 
the  declaration  that  the  blood  of  Christ  "  cleanseth 
from  all  sin,"  and  hence  prefers  the  filthy  rags  of 
self-righteousness,  to  the  perfect  and  spotless  robe 
wrought  out  by  the  Redeemer,  in  which,  and  in 
which  alone,  a  sinner  can  stand  before  God  with  ac- 
ceptance, and  receive  pardon,  justification,  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  eternal  life — all  as  the  fruit  of  the  Saviour's 
purchase,  and  to  the  sinner,  a  gift  perfectly  free,  and 
utterly  undeserved.  The  difference  between  a  legal 
and  an  evangelical  repentance,  will  receive  further 
illustration  in  the  sequel. 

The  words  "  repentance  unto  life  is  a  saving  grace," 
further  imply,  both  that  there  is  a  repentance  which 
is  infallibly  connected  with  eternal  life,  and  that  such 
repentance  is  a  grace;  that  is,  an  unspeakable  and 
unmerited  favour;  consisting  of  a  right  state  or  dispo- 
sition of  soul,  produced,  as  all  other  gracious  dispo- 
sitions and  exercises  are,  by  the  operations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  It  is  by  faith,  my  young  friends,  that 
the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  become  entitled  to  heaven, 
and  by  repentance  that  they  become  prepared,  ox  qual- 
ified, for  its  employments  and  enjoyment.  The  ori- 
ginal word  (fifT'ttj^ota,  metanoia)  used  throughout  the 
New  Testament  to  denote  genuine  and  saving  re- 
pentance, strictly  means  a  change  of  mind,  and  a 
change  that  is  at  once  salutary,  radical,  and  perma- 
nent.    You  perceive,  therefore,  that  repentance  thus 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  319 

taken,  is  but  another  word  for  true  conversion,  and 
such  is  indeed  the  fact;  both  these  terms  refer  to  a 
right,  deep,  and  lasting  change  of  the  mind,  by  which 
the  soul  is  turned  from  the  supreme  love  of  sin,  to  the 
supreme  love  of  holiness;  that  is,  its  whole  current  is 
reversed;  so  that  after  the  change,  it  hates  what  once 
it  loved,  and  loves  what  once  it  hated;  and  hence  the 
life,  as  well  as  the  heart,  is  changed,  and  instead  of 
being  devoted  supremely  to  the  pursuit  of  sinful  or 
worldly  objects,  is  devoted  to  the  service  of  God,  and 
is  regulated  by  a  regard  to  all  his  commandments. 
Thus  they  who  are  the  subjects  of  true  repentance  or 
conversion,  will  be  constantly  increasing  in  sanctifi- 
cation;  for  repentance,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  an 
exercise  often  repeated,  and  never  terminated  while 
any  sin  or  corruption  remains  to  be  mortified;  or  in 
other  words,  till  the  saint  drops  his  body  of  sin  and 
death  in  the  grave.  You  perceive  therefore  that  sancti- 
fication  is  the  end,  of  which  repentance  is  the  means; 
and  that  the  means  cease  only  when  the  end  is  fully 
attained — when  the  soul,  escaping  from  all  its  pollu- 
tions in  the  body,  rises  pure  and  immaculate  to  the 
mansions  of  perfect  holiness  in  heaven.  What  a  con- 
sistent and  glorious  system  is  the  plan  of  our  redemp- 
tion! Faith,  by  connecting  the  soul  with  the  Re- 
deemer, entitles  it  to  heaven,  and  repentance,  by  car- 
rying on  the  work  of  sanctification,  prepares  it  for  the 
celestial  beatitude;  and  these  graces,  although  their 
operations  are  different,  are  always  found  conjoined; 
and  the  result  is,  that  no  individual  is  entitled  to  hea- 
ven, without  being  prepared  for  it;  and  no  one  is  pre- 
pared for  it,  without  being  entitled  to  its  possession — 
the  title  and  the  preparation  invariably  go  together. 

The  next  thing  which  the  answer  before  us  calls 
us  to  consider  is,  that  in  order  to  a  genuine  and  sav- 
ing repentance,  the  sinner  must  have  a  true  sense  of 
his  sin.  The  methods  in  which  wandering  sinners 
are  brought  home  to  God,  are  so  various,  that  per- 
haps no  one  step  of  the  process  is  always  the  same, 
or  at  least  not  perceptibly  so,  in  the  order  of  place 
and  time.    Yet,  in  most  cases,  that  very  legal  repent- 


320  LECTURES    ON     THE 

ance  of  which  you  have  been  hearing  in  this  ieclure, 
is  probably  the  first  exercise  of  an  awakened  sinner; 
and  hence  it  has  been  technically  called  a  law-work. 
But  as  it  goes  no  further  than  to  make  the  transgres- 
sor see  the  danger  of  sin,  and  to  put  him  on  using 
improper  endeavours  to  avoid  that  danger,  it  can 
never  be  said  to  proceed  from  such  a  sense  of  sin  as 
the  answer  before  us  specifies.  In  a  true  sense  of  sin, 
its  awful  danger  is  indeed  seen,  and  as  I  have  just 
said,  is  probably,  in  most  cases,  the  first  thing  that  is 
perceived;  but  to  this  there  is  always  added  the  fol- 
lowing particulars: — 1.  Sin  is  seen  to  be  a  most  un- 
reasonable, wicked,  and  daring  rebellion  against  a 
good  and  holy  God.  In  a  mere  legal  repentance 
God  is  feared,  and  the  sentence  of  his  law  is  dreaded; 
but  he  is  feared  as  a  tyrant,  and  his  law  is  disliked  as 
unduly  rigorous.  If  the  sinner  could  have  his  wish, 
it  would  be  that  the  law  of  God  should  be  relaxed,  so 
that  he  might  sin  with  in)punity;  and  could  this  be 
the  case,  his  fears  and  his  concern  about  his  sin,  would 
vanish  together.  But  he  who  has  a  true  sense  of  sin, 
sees  and  says  with  the  apostle,  that  the  "  law  is  holy, 
and  the  commandment  holy,  and  just,  and  good.'' 
He  sees  that  God  has  required  nothing  but  what  is 
perfectly  reasonable,  right,  and  good ;  and  that  in  all 
his  sins,  he  has  been  a  wicked  and  daring  rebel, 
trampling  on  the  righteous  authority  and  requisitions 
of  the  greatest  and  best  of  beings,  to  whose  wonder- 
ful and  unspeakable  forbearance  alone  he  is  indebted, 
that  he  has  not  been  consigned  to  the  just  punishment 
of  his  transgressions,  in  the  pit  of  eternal  perdition. 
He  sees  the  aggravation  of  all  sin  to  consist  so  much 
in  its  being  committed  against  God,  that  he  is  ready  to 
leave  out  of  view  all  other  considerations,  and  to  say 
with  the  penitent  Psalmist,  whose  great  sin  had  a  fel- 
low mortal  for  its  immediate  object — "  Against  thee, 
thee  only  have  I  sinned,  and  done  tliis  evil  in  thy  sight, 
that  thou  mightest  be  justified  when  thou  speakest, 
and  be  clear  when  thou  judgest."  And  hence  it  is, 
a^  this  text  fully  warrants  us  to  afiirm,  that  a  real 
penitent,  one  who  has  a  true  sense  of  his  sin,  will, 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  321 

from  his  heart,  justify  the  sentence  of  the  law  which 
condemns  him — will  see  and  feel  that  he  deserves  to 
die  the  death;  and  that  if  he  were  cast  into  hell,  he 
would  have  no  right  to  complain  that  he  was  pun- 
ished beyond  his  desert.  This,  as  will  presently  ap- 
pear, is  perfectly  consistent  with  hoping  for,  and 
trusting  in  the  mercy  of  God,  through  Jesus  Christ, 
and  is  indeed  inseparable  from  it. 

2.  There  is,  in  a  true  sense  of  sin,  a  very  affecting 
view  of  it,  as  in  its  own  nature  unspeakably  polluting 
and  vile.  Agreeably  to  this,  we  find  that  the  words 
of  the  Psalmist  already  quoted,  are  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  these — "  Behold  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity, 
and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me."  And  a  lit- 
tle after,  "  Purge  me  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall  be 
clean;  wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow." 
With  the  Psalmist,  every  true  penitent  will  trace  up 
all  particular  acts  of  sin — every  polluted  stream  that 
has  defiled  him  in  body  and  in  soul,  to  the  fountain 
of  abomination  that  there  is  in  his  very  heart  and 
nature.  Think  much  of  this,  my  beloved  youth. 
That  sinner  has  never  yet  had  a  true  view  of  his 
case,  who  dwells  only,  or  principally,  on  particular 
instances  of  transgression.  He  must  be  brought  to 
see,  what  our  Saviour  so  plainly  and  impressively 
taught,  that  "  Those  things  which  proceed  out  of  the 
mouth,  come  forth  from  the  heari,  and  they  defile  the 
man.  For  out  of  the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts, 
murders,  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false  witness, 
blasphemies.  These  are  the  things  that  defile  a 
man."  Yes,  and  the  true  penitent  will  have  such 
a  sense  of  his  moral  defilement  by  sin,  that  he  will, 
so  to  speak,  sicken  at  the  view.  He  will  see  sin  to 
be  unspeakably  filthy,  odious,  and  detestable,  and 
that  it  has  polluted  by  its  abominations  all  his  nature, 
every  power  of  his  soul,  and  every  action  of  his  life; 
and  he  will,  from  a  real  sight  and  sense  of  his  condi- 
tion and  character,  say  with  holy  Job — "Behold  I 
am  vile,  what  shall  I  answer  thee?  I  will  lay  mine 
hand  upon  my  mouth — I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in 
dust  and  ashes."     To  be  purged  and  cleansed  from 


322 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


this  state  of  deep  and  hateful  defilement,  will  be,  as 
we  have  seen  that  it  was  with  David,  the  most  ear- 
nest desire  of  his  soul.  No  evil  will  appear  so  great 
as  the  evil  of  sin,  and  no  deliverance  so  desirable  as 
to  be  freed  from  its  filthy  stains.  Mark  how  strik- 
ingly, in  this  particular,  a  true  sense  of  sin  differs  from 
that  which  only  produces  fear — fear  that  punishment 
will  follow  it. 

Our  Catechism  next  teaches  us,  that  true  repentance 
is  also  connected  with,  and  proceeds  from,  "  an  ap- 
prehension of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ."  Much 
has  been  said  on  the  question — Which  is  first  in  the 
order  of  nature,  faith  or  repentance?  You  will  ob- 
serve that  the  question  is  entirely  about  the  order  of 
nature;  for  it  is  agreed  on  all  hands,  that  these  graces 
are  inseparable,  and  always  mingled  together.  Now 
it  appears  to  me,  that  whether  faith  be  taken  in  its 
larger  sense,  as  relating  to  the  whole  revealed  will  of 
God,  or  be  taken  in  its  more  restricted  sense,  as  an 
acceptance  and  reliance  on  Christ  alone  for  salvation, 
it  must,  in  the  order  of  nature,  go  before  every  kind 
and  degree  of  repentance.  Legal  repentance  could 
have  no  existence,  if  the  sinner  did  not  believe  in  a 
God,  who  will  punish  the  violators  of  his  law.  Sup- 
pose a  sincere  and  complete  Atheist,  and  you  suppose 
the  existence  of  a  man  who  can  never  feel  a  single 
compunction  for  sin.  He  may  fear  punishment  from 
men,  but  certainly  can  fear  none  from  a  being  who, 
as  he  believes,  does  not  exist.  All  sense  of  guilt  be- 
fore God  must  plainly  proceed  from  some  kind  of  be- 
lief of  his  existence,  of  his  law,  and  of  his  determina- 
tion to  punish  those  who  offend  him.  Those  who  are 
merely  legalists  in  their  repentance,  have  commonly 
a  speculative  belief,  not  only  of  the  being  of  God,  but 
of  the  general  truth  of  the  Bible;  and  hence  proceed 
all  their  anxieties,  fears,  remorse,  and  self-righteous- 
ness. Such  faith  as  they  have,  precedes,  and  is  the 
cause  of  such  repentance  as  they  exercise.  And  as 
to  "an  apprehension  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,'* 
by  which  it  was  doubtless  intended  we  should  under- 
stand at  least  the  incipient  exercise  of  saving  faith,  it 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  323 

appears  to  me,  that  in  the  order  of  nature,  it  must  ne- 
cessarily precede  repentance  unto  hfe.  We  have  no 
reason  to  believe  that  there  ever  was,  or  can  be,  any 
such  thing  as  a  salutary  repentance,  without  some 
kind  of  apprehension  that  God  may  show  mercy  to 
the  penitent  indivftiual.  We  thus  conclude  from 
what  is  witnessed  in  cases  of  a  complete  despair  of 
mercy.  Such  a  case  was  that  of  Judas.  He  had  a 
powerful  and  overwhelming  sense  of  guilt,  and  an 
utter  despair  of  obtaining  forgiveness.  The  conse- 
quence was,  "he  repented,"*  and  went  and  hanged 
himself:  and  such  has  been  the  effect  of  despair  in 
numerous  instances  since  the  time  of  Judas;  and  it 
may  be  questioned  whether  this,  or  taking  refuge  in 
blank  Atheism,  would  not  always  be  the  case,  if  there 
was  not  a  lingering  hope  of  mercy,  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  have,  to  their  own  apprehension,  been  in 
a  state  of  despair.  At  the  bottom  of  their  hearts 
there  has  still  been  a  hope  of  mercy,  too  feeble  to  be 
distinctly  recognized,  yet  not  without  a  real  opera- 
tion and  influence.  But  when  there  is  a  distinct  ap- 
prehension of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  it  furnishes 
the  only  pure,  as  well  as  the  most  powerful  motive 
to  genuine  repentance.  While  the  soul  is  filled  with 
self-abhorrence,  in  the  view  of  having  sinned  against 
a  merciful  God  and  Saviour,  it  is  melted  into  genuine 
sorrow  for  all  its  sin,  made  to  look  on  it  with  the 
greatest  detestation,  and  at  the  same  time  is  filled 
with  humble  love  and  adoring  gratitude  to  God,  and 
with  a  most  intense  desire  to  avoid  offending  him  in 
time  to  come.     Here  indeed  is  evangelical  repent- 

*  It  ought  to  be  made  known  to  those  who  cannot  read  the  New 
Testament  in  the  original,  that  the  Greek  word  which  is  here  trans- 
lated "  he  repented,"  is  entirely  different  from  that  v.'hjch  is  invariably 
used  to  signify  true  repentance.  To  repent  truly,  or  savingly,  is  al- 
ways expressed  by  derivatives  from  the  word  ^STavos&i,  (metanoeo.) 
The  word  used  to  signify  such  a  repentance  as  was  that  of  Judas,  is 
derived  from  ^sTa^sAi/xa/,  (metamelomai.)  We  lack  single  terms  in 
the  English  language  to  denote  the  difference  between  the  meaning 
of  these  two  words  in  the  original,  and  therefore  both  are  translated 
by  the  same  word.  Campbell  translates  the  latter  repentance,  and 
the  former  reformation. 


324 


LECTURES     ON      THE 


ance — hatred  to  sin,  because  it  is  offensive  and  dis- 
honourable to  God  our  Saviour,  and  because  it  is  in 
itself  most  loathsome  and  detestable.  So  that  it  may 
be  truly  said,  that  when  faith  and  hope  rise  to  assur- 
ance, then  the  most  genuine  repentance  will  flow 
forth;  that  is,  the  believer  will  hate  sin  most,  and 
most  earnestly  desire  deliverance  from  it,  at  the  very 
time  that  he  has  not  a  doubt  that  through  Christ 
Jesus  he  is  freely  and  fully  pardoned,  and  will  never 
come  into  condemnation.  But  I  am  anticipating 
what,  if  God  permit,  will  be  more  distinctly  and  fully 
considered  in  our  next  lecture. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  325 


LECTURE  LXIII. 


Without  recapitulating  any  thing  already  said,  I 
now  ask  your  attention  to  the  clause  in  the  answer  of 
the  Catechism  under  consideration,  which  states,  that 
in  repentance  untoHfe,  a  sinner  "doth,  with  grief  and 
hatred  of  his  sin,  turn  from  it  unto  God." 

There  is  a  very  striking  passage  in  the  prophecy  of 
Zechariah,  (xii.  10.)  which  will  furnish  us  with  a  just 
view  of  the  chief  source,  and  the  just  measure,  of  that 
grief  which  a  true  penitent  will  feel  on  account  of  his 
sin.  "They  shall  look  upon  me  whom  they  have 
pierced;  and  they  shall  mourn  for  him,  as  one  mourn- 
eth  for  his  only  son,  and  shall  be  in  bitterness  for  him, 
as  one  that  is  in  bitterness  for  his  first  born."  We 
know  from  the  quotation  of  these  words  by  the  be- 
loved apostle,  (John  xix.  37,)  and  his  referring  them 
to  thecrucifiers  of  our  blessed  Lord,  that  this  was  in- 
tended to  be  their  primary  application:  and  there  was 
a  striking  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  when  many  of  those  who  had  been  con- 
cerned in  the  actual  crucifixion  of  Christ,  "  were 
pricked  in  their  heart,  and  said  unto  Peter  and  to  the 
rest  of  the  apostles,  men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we 
do?"  But  this,  though  the  special,  was  not  intended 
to  be  the  exclusive  application  of  the  prophecy,  it  was 
doubtless  intended  to  exhibit  the  feelings  of  all,  who 
truly  repent  of  their  sins  under  the  gospel  dispensa- 
tion, in  a  view  of  their  guilt  as  exhibited  in  the  cross 
of  Christ.  Scott's  remarks  on  this  passage,  in  his 
commentary,  are  unquestionably  just.  He  says — 
"Whilst  we  condemn  the  conduct  of  him  who  be- 
trayed, and  of  those  who  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory, 
we  shall  not  exculpate  ourselves.  We  shall  remem- 
ber, that  in  fact  our  sins  were  the  cause  of  the  Re- 
deemer's crucifixion;  our  ingratitude  and  dishonour- 


326 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


able  conduct  have  often  tendered  towards  the  guilt  of 
crucifying  him  afresh.  We  may  therefore  all  look  to 
him  whom  we  have  pierced,  and  upon  our  sins  as  the 
thorns,  the  nails,  and  the  spear.  This  will  increase 
the  poignancy  of  our  sorrow  and  remorse,  while  we 
hope  for  mercy,  through  that  blood  which  we  helped 
to  shed.  When  our  sins  are  viewed  in  this  glass,  we 
see  more  cause  to  mourn  for  them,  than  for  the  loss  of 
any  earthly  object;  and  we  become  inconsolable, 
save  by  the  consolations  of  the  blessed  gospel."  To 
this  place  I  have  reserved  what  might  have  been 
added,  and  if  strictness  of  method  had  alone  been 
considered,  should  have  been  added,  as  a  third  par- 
ticular, when  I  showed  in  my  last  lecture,  what  is 
included  in  a  true  sense  of  sin.  But  as  the  deepest 
mourning  does  commonly  arise  in  the  mind  of  the  be- 
liever, from  a  view  of  his  sin  as  being  concerned  in 
the  awful  and  inconceivable  sufferings  and  ignomini- 
ous death  of  his  Saviour,  it  seems  peculiarly  proper 
to  point  your  attention  to  this  source  of  godly  sorrow, 
when  speaking  distinctly  of  the  true  penitent's  grief 
for  sin.  Often  when  he  thinks  of  the  ineffable  agony 
and  unparalleled  humiliation  of  the  Son  of  God,  at 
the  time  that  the  combined  inflictions  of  heaven, 
earth,  and  hell,  fell  upon  him,  he  is  ready  to  cry  out — 
"  My  sins  had  a  share  in  it  all ;  yes,  those  very  sins 
which  he  thus  suffered  and  died  to  expiate,  were  con- 
cerned in  degrading,  and  tormenting,  and  murdering 
my  blessed  Saviour.  What  a  guilty  wretch  have  I 
been! — <  0  that  my  head  were  waters,  and  my  eyes  a 
fountain  of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and  night' 
for  those  crimson  and  scarlet  crimes,  which  insulted 
and  slew  the  Redeemer  in  whom  is  all  my  hope.  He 
has  indeed  forgiven  me  all;  but  that  matchless  gene- 
rosity, grace,  and  goodness,  is  the  very  thing  that 
touches  me  the  most  tenderly;  so  that  when  1  think 
what  to  him  was  the  cost  of  his  forgiveness  of  me,  I 
am  ready  to  ask,  how  shall  I  ever  forgive  myself? 
Shall  I  not  for  ever  grieve  to  think  that  the  best  friend 
of  my  soul,  he  who  has  delivered  me  from  eternal 
perdition,  and  raised  me  to  the  hope  of  heavenly 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  327 

bliss,  was  wounded  for  my  transgressions,  was  bruised 
for  my  iniquities,  that  the  chastisement  of  my  peace 
was  upon  him,  and  that  with  his  stripes  I  am  healed." 
My  dear  youth,  such  grief  for  sin  as  this,  is  discrimi- 
nating.    The  ungodly  world  know  nothing  of  the 

:  kind.  Tlie  carnally  minded  may  indeed  weep,  and  I 
believe  they  sometimes  do  in  fact  weep,  when  they 
hear  a  lively  description  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 
But  they  weep,  just  as  they  do  at  a  tragedy  in  the 

i  theatre.  They  seldom,  I  suspect,  weep  in  secret;  and 
I  am  persuaded  they  never  grieve  and  weep  under  a 
view  of  their  own  sins,  as  the  crucifiers  of  the  Lord 
of  life  and  glory.  They  never  weep  at  the  indigni- 
ties and  anguish  which  their  guilt  caused  to  him  who 
must  save  them,  if  saved  they  ever  are,  from  the  awful 
wrath  to  come.  This  is  a  weeping  and  a  grief,  which 
belong  only  to  the  genuine  and  pardoned  penitent. 

The  sensibilities  of  some  minds  are  much  keener 
and  stronger  than  those  of  others,  and  this  difference 
of  natural  temperament  will,  as  I  have  heretofore  re- 
marked, commonly  show  itself  in  religion,  as  in  every 
thing  else.  But  that  individual  who  has  tears  in 
abundance  to  shed  over  earthly  losses — over  the  loss 
of  relatives,  of  property,  of  personal  reputation,  or  of 
public  calamity — and  yet  never  weeps  for  his  sins — 
knows  nothing  of  the  repentance  which  is  unto  life. 
Think  of  the  strong  language  of  the  text  I  have  quo- 
ted— "  they  shall  mourn  as  one  mourneth  for  his  only 
son,  and  shall  be  in  bitterness  as  one  that  is  in  bitter- 
ness for  his  first  born."  Can  any  construction  be 
given  to  this  language,  which  can  render  it  applicable 
to  those  who  think  of  their  sins  with  but  a  slight  and 
seldom  repeated  sorrow?  Truly  I  am  ready  to  be- 
lieve, that  he  who  has  been  for  any  length  of  time  in 
the  profession  of  religion,  and  has  not  shed  more  tears 
before  his  God,  on  account  of  his  sins,  and  in  pleading 
for  their  remission  and  for  renewed  pardon,  than  he 
has  shed  for  ail  other  causes,  and  on  all  other  occa- 
sions of  weeping,  in  his  whole  life — he,  I  am  ready 
to  believe,  is  a  Christian  only  in  profession.  Of  genu- 
ine repentance,  it  seems  to  me,  he  must  be  entirely 


328  LECTURES     ON     THE 

ignorant.  How  did  the  apostle  Paul,  although  he 
was  assured  of  his  forgiveness,  humble  himself 
through  the  whole  of  his  life,  in  the  recollection  of 
his  guilt  in  his  unconverted  state;  and  after  all  his 
high  attainments  in  grace,  how  did  he  mourn  and  la- 
ment over  the  remaining  sinfulness  of  his  heart — "  0 
wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from 
the  body  of  this  death!  I  thank  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord." 

I  now  proceed  to  remark,  that  he  who  truly  grieves 
for  sin,  will  of  necessity  hate  it.  We  never  grieve, 
because  we  possess  that  which  we  love,  and  in  which 
we  delight.  It  is  true,  indeed,  as  has  been  shown, 
that  he  who  has  only  a  legal  repentance,  may  be 
really  sorry  that  he  has  exposed  himself  to  punish- 
ment. But  let  any  one  perceive  impressively,  that 
his  sin  has  rendered  him  a  guilty  and  an  inexcusable 
rebel  against  his  God;  has  made  him  loathsome  and 
abominable  in  his  own  view,  and  in  the  view  of  all 
holy  beings;  and  has  made  him  a  partner  with  the 
crucifiers  of  that  Saviour  through  whom  alone  he  has 
the  hope  of  pardon  and  eternal  life — let  him  have 
this  apprehension  of  sin,  and  he  cannot  but  hate  it — 
hate  it,  worse  than  he  hates  any  thing  beside.  He 
will  hate  it  in  all  its  shapes,  and  forms,  and  degrees. 
Shame,  and  poverty,  and  pain,  and  death  itself,  will 
not  be  the  subjects  of  as  much  aversion,  as  that  which 
he  feels  against  sin.  He  will  be  ready  to  say,  "  Keep 
me  from  sin,  and  let  whatever  else  befall  me,  I  can 
and  will,  by  the  help  of  God,  endure  it."  The  inbred 
sin  of  his  nature,  and  the  sin  which  most  easily  be- 
sets him,  he  will  hate  as  much  as  any  overt  acts  of 
transgression  whatsoever.  In  a  word,  love  and  ha- 
tred are  the  exact  opposites  of  each  other;  and  as  the 
love  of  holiness  is  implanted  in  the  heart  of  every 
true  penitent,  sin,  which  is  the  opposite  of  holiness, 
must  be  hated — and  hated  just  in  proportion  as  holi- 
ness is  possessed. 

From  the  perceptions  and  feelings  that  I  have  now 
described,  you  may  see  at  once,  that  he  who  experi- 
ences them  must  and  will  turn  from  sin.     We  are 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  329 

naturally  and  strongly  prone  to  turn  away  from  that 
which  we  loathe  and  hate,  arid  when  left  to  our  volun- 
tary choice,  we  do  so  in  every  imaginable  instance. 
Now,  there  is  no  other  conceivable  object,  as  wc 
have  seen,  that  is  so  perfectly  detestable,  to  every 
genuine  penitent,  as  sin.  From  this,  therefore,  he 
will  turn  with  the  most  deep-felt  abhorrence.  It  is 
no  valid  objection  to  this  assertion,  that  the  remain- 
ders of  sin  adhere  to  the  really  penitent  while  they 
live,  and  that  there  is  not  a  day  of  their  lives  in  which 
they  can  say  that  they  have  not  sinned.  Our  posi- 
tion may  seem  like  a  paradox,  to  those  who  have  no 
experimental  acquaintance  with  a  divine  and  spirit- 
ual life.  But  hear  the  apostle  Paul,  whose  explana- 
tion of  this  paradox  needs  no  comment: — "For  that 
which  I  do,  I  allow  not:  for  what  I  would,  that  do  I 
not;  but  what  I  hate,  that  do  I.  If  then  I  do  that 
which  I  would  not,  I  consent  unto  the  law  that  it  is 
good.  Now  then  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin 
that  dwelleth  in  me.  For  I  know  that  in  me,  (that 
is,  in  my  flesh,)  dwelleth  no  good  thing:  for  to  will 
is  present  with  me;  but  how  to  perform  that  which 
is  good,  I  find  not.  For  the  good  that  I  would,  I  do 
not:  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do.  Now 
if  I  do  that  I  would  not,  it  is  no  more  I  that  do  it,  but 
sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.  I  find  then  a  law,  that, 
when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  me.  For 
I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward  man: 
But  I  see  another  law  in  my  members,  warring 
against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing  me  into 
captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my  members." 
Again,  this  same  apostle  says — "The  flesh  lusteth 
against  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh,  and 
these  are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other;  so  that  ye 
cannot  do  the  things  that  ye  would."  Alas!  my 
young  friends,  it  is  this  abhorrence  of  all  sin,  and 
himself  on  account  of  it — this  turning  away  from  it, 
and  struggling  against  it,  while  a  portion  ot  unsancti- 
fied  nature  is  perpetually  drawing  in  an  opposite  di- 
rection— drawing  him  into  what  he  hates — it  is  this 
very  thing,  that  constitutes  the  believing  penitent's 

VOL.  II. — 22 


330  LECTURES     ON     THE 

sorest  conflict  while  he  remains  in  Hfe.  Still  it  is  true, 
that  he  watches  and  strives  against  all  sin,  and  all 
temptations  to  it,  both  outward  and  inward;  and 
therefore  it  may  be  said  with  the  strictest  truth,  that 
he  turns  from  it,  and  "  exercises  himself  to  have  al- 
ways a  conscience  void  of  offence,  toward  God  and 
toward  man." 

The  Catechism  adds,  that  it  is  "  unto  God"  that 
the  true  penitent  turns.  This  is  the  point  which  dis- 
tinguishes genuine  repentance  from  every  counter- 
feit. Every  legalist,  and  all  unsanctified  persons, 
whatever  length  they  may  apparently  go  in  religion, 
do  not  return  unto  God.  It  was  this,  of  which  the 
prophet  Hosea  represents  the  God  of  Israel  as  com- 
plaining— "They  have  not  cried  unto  me  with  their 
heart,  when  they  howled  upon  their  beds.  They  re- 
turn, but  not  to  the  Most  High."  It  is  no  uncom- 
mon thing  for  impenitent  men  to  turn  from  one  sin 
to  another:  from  sins  which  are  reproachful  before 
the  world,  to  those  which  have  fashion  or  popular 
opinion  on  their  side;  or  to  impieties  or  impurities 
which  may  be  indulged  in  secret.  But  the  real  peni- 
tent turns  from  all  sin  unto  God.  To  God  he  comes, 
through  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  as  the  great  Mediator 
and  Intercessor  between  him  and  his  offended  Maker; 
as  the  appointed  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  men — 
he  comes  and  confesses  his  aggravated  guilt;  he 
comes  and  pleads  the  efficacy  of  that  blood  which 
cleanseth  from  all  sin,  that  he  may  be  pardoned,  and 
cleansed,  and  justified,  and  sanctified,  and  saved;  he 
comes  and  prays  for  the  powerful  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  to  renew  and  sanctify  him  more  and 
more,  to  destroy  the  love  of  sin,  and  cherish  the  love 
of  holiness  in  his  heart;  he  comes  and  pleads  that 
God  would  constantly  strengthen  him  against  the 
power  of  temptation;  he  comes,  in  a  word,  and  de- 
votes himself  unreservedly  to  God,  to  do  his  will,  to 
obey  his  commandments,  to  be  his  guide  even  unto 
death,  and  his  eternal  portion  beyond  the  grave. 

It  cannot  be  otherwise  than  that  he  who  acts  in 
the  manner  just  described,  should  have  "  a  full  pur- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  331 

pose,"  and  use  his  most  strenuous  "  endeavours,"  to 
walk  before  God  in  "  new  obedience."     A  full  pur- 
pose to  yield  obedience  to  all  the  commands  of  God, 
may  here  be  considered  as  opposed  to  a  purpose  that 
is  partial  or  temporary,  or  to  one  that  is  to  be  carried 
into  effect  at  some  future  time.    How  many  are  there 
who  purpose  to  leave  off  the  commission  of  certain 
sins,  and  even  do  what  they  purpose,  while    they 
form  no  resolution  to  abandon  others  of  equal  moral 
turpitude?    How  many  are  there  whose  resolutions 
of  an  entire  amendment,  however  ardently  formed, 
are  broken  and  forgotten,  without  being  followed  by 
any  lasting  change  of  outward  conduct,  or  inward 
disposition?    And   how  very  many  are  there,   who 
purpose  and  fondly  flatter  themselves  that  at  some 
future  period  they  will  turn  from  sin  to  God,  and  yet 
live  and  die  impenitent  and  utterly  unreformed?    But 
the  execution  of  ihe  full  purpose  we  consider,  is  com- 
menced without  any  delay,  is  directed  against  every 
sin,  and  becomes  a  fixed  principle  of  the  mind.     He 
who  entertains  it  says  with  the  prodigal,  "  I  will  arise 
and  go  unto  my  father."     Hence  it  is,  as  the  Cate- 
chism states,  that  this  full  purpose  is  connected  with 
an  "endeavour" — and  it  is  Si  full,  or  strenuous  en- 
deavour— to  yield  a  new  obedience  to  all  the  Divine 
requisitions.     Purposes  without  endeavours,  profess- 
ed repentance  without   reformation,  declarations  of 
sorrow  for  sin  without  forsaking  and  avoiding  it,  are 
all  empty,  vain,  and  useless.     They  indicate  nothing, 
except  that  the  parties  concerned  deceive  either  them- 
selves or  others.     He  who  has  a  sincere  and  full  pur- 
pose to  obey,  will  look  to  God  in  earnest  prayer  for 
grace  and  strength,  and  in  reliance  on  these  will  in- 
stantly endeavour,  with  all  his  might,  to  carry  his 
purpose  into  effect,  and  into  effect,  notwithstanding 
great  imperfection,  it  will,  in  some  good  measure,  be 
carried.    True  repentance  will  always  produce,  as  its 
natural  fruit,  obedience  to  what  God  requires. 

The  terms  new  obedience,  used  not  only  here,  but 
in  another  answer  of  the  Catechism,  seem  to  demand 
some  special  attention.    Why,  it  may  be  asked,  is  the 


332 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


obedience  which  the  true  penitent  endeavours  after, 
called  a  new  obedience?  In  what  respects  is  it  neiv? 
I  answer,  1.  it  is  new  in  regard  to  its  extent.  Im- 
penitent men,  as  we  have  seen,  may  render  di partial 
outward  obedience  to  the  commands  of  God;  but 
they  never  go  further.  But  the  true  penitent  says 
with  the  Psalmist,  "then  shall  I  not  be  ashamed, 
when  I  have  respect  unto  all  thy  commandments." 
There  is  with  him  no  taking  of  one  duty  and  leaving 
another;  no  satisfaction  in  obeying  the  second  table 
of  the  law,  while  the  first  is  disregarded;  no  separa- 
ting the  duties  which  we  owe  to  God,  our  neighbour, 
and  ourselves;  no  severing  of  the  feehngs  and  affec- 
tions of  the  heart  from  outward  visible  actions.  In 
a  word,  a  new  obedience,  though  imperfect  in  degree, 
is  impartial  and  universal  in  regard  to  its  objects.  It 
says  with  David — "  I  esteem  all  thy  precepts  con- 
cerning all  things  to  be  right;  and  I  hate  every  false 
way.^^  2.  The  obedience  we  consider  may  be  called 
neiv,  because  it  proceeds  from  7iew  principles  afid 
7notives.  Men  in  their  natural  state  are  often  in- 
fluenced to  perform  what  they  call  duty;  and  which, 
as  to  the  external  act,  is  duty,  from  the  dictates  of 
natural  conscience,  from  a  regard  to  their  own  inte- 
rest or  reputation,  or  from  a  mercenary  hope  of  hea- 
ven, or  a  slavish  fear  of  hell.  But  evangelical  obedi- 
ence— the  obedience  of  every  true  penitent — springs 
from  sources  of  a  character  entirely  different.  Its 
origin  is  the  imparted  grace  of  God,  and  it  flows  forth 
as  the  expression  of  faith  and  love — "  The  grace  of 
God  that  bringeth  salvation  hath  appeared  to  all  men, 
teaching  us  that  denying  ungodliness  and  worldly 
lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly 
in  this  present  world.  Show  me  thy  faith  by  thy 
works — Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin — This  is 
the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  your 
faith — faith  that  worketh  by  love.  Love  is  the  ful- 
filling of  the  law — If  ye  love  me  keep  my  command- 
ments— The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us;  because 
we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died  for  all,  then  were  all 
dead;  and  that  he  died  for  all,  that  they  which  live 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  333 

should  not  henceforth  live  unto  themselves,  but  unto 
I  him  that  died  for  them  and  rose  again."  A  slave 
I  obeys  his  master  through  fear,  a  dutiful  child  obeys 
I  a  kind  parent  from  love.  Here  is  the  grand  difFer- 
;  ence  between  every  legalist,  and  every  child  of  God. 
All  the  obedience  rendered  by  the  former  to  the  di- 
vine requisitions  is  through  servile  fear;  that  of  the 
latter  is  from  filial  love.  The  legalist,  moreover,  ren- 
ders his  obedience  that  he  may  merit  a  reward.  He 
whose  repentance  is  unto  life,  thinks  of  no  merit  as 
worthy  of  reward,  but  the  infinite  merit  of  Christ,  and 
considers  his  own  imperfect  obedience  as  making  no 
other  return  to  his  Saviour,  than  an  expression  of 
gratitude — a  very  inadequate  expression  too,  for  un- 
merited and  infinite  favour.  When,  therefore,  an  in- 
dividual ceases  to  obey  from  fear,  and  begins  to  obey 
from  love;  ceases  to  think  of  earning  a  reward,  and 
thinks  only  of  expressing  humble  gratitude;  his  obe- 
dience may  be  called  with  emphatic  propriety  a  new 
obedience.  3.  The  obedience  we  consider  is  new^ 
because  he  who  renders  it,  no  longer  relies  on  his 
own  strength  to  effect  his  purpose,  but  on  the  strength 
of  another.  Once  he  made  resolutions  and  attempted 
duties,  with  a  feeling  of  entire  self-sufficiency  for  the 
performance.  Now  he  feelingly  believes  the  words 
of  Christ — ''  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing;"  and  he 
speaks  and  acts  as  did  the  holy  apostle  when  he  said — 
"  Not  that  we  are  sufficient  of  ourselves  to  think  any 
thing  as  of  ourselves,  but  our  sufficiency  is  of  God" — 
yet,  "  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which 
strengtheneth  me."  4.  The  obedience  of  which  we 
speak  may  be  called  new,  because  in  yielding  it,  the 
end  or  design  which  is  regarded  is  new.  Unsancti- 
fied  men  have  always  some  selfish  end  in  view; 
their  own  advantage  or  happiness  is  supremely  and 
solely  regarded,  in  all  they  do.  It  is  otherwise  with 
him  who  is  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  his  mind.  He  is 
not  indeed  regardless  of  his  own  happiness ;  but  he 
has  learned  that  the  glory  of  God,  as  the  highest  and 
best  of  all  objects,  should  be  supremely  regarded  in 
all  he  does;  and  that  if  he  thus  regards  it,  God  will 


334  LECTURES      ON     THE 

take  care  of  his  happiness,  better  than  any  care  which 
can  be  taken  of  it  by  himself.  He  therefore  heartily 
approves  of,  and  constantly  endeavours  to  obey,  the 
command — "  Whether  ye  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever 
ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God" — For  all  these 
reasons,  then,  the  obedience  of  him  whose  repentance 
is  unto  life,  may,  with  emphasis,  be  denominated 

A  NEW  OBEDIENCE. 

In  closing  this  discussion  let  me  remind  you,  my 
young  friends — and  may  God  impress  the  admonition 
deeply  on  each  of  your  hearts — that  you  have  been 
hearing  of  a  Christian  grace,  which  every  individual 
of  you  must  possess,  or  be  lost  for  ever — "Except  ye 
repent,"  said  our  Saviour,  again  and  again — "  ex- 
cept ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish."  Yes, 
verily,  to  repent  or  perish  eternally,  \s  the  only  alter- 
native for  each  of  you.  Nor  ought  you  to  delay  this 
duty  for  a  single  moment.  You  cannot  do  so,  with- 
out both  guilt  and  danger  unspeakable.  By  delay, 
you  may  grieve  the  Spirit  of  grace  to  leave  you  for 
ever  to  yourselves;  and  if  thus  left,  you  will  never 
repent;  and  your  eternal  ruin  will  be  sealed,  as  cer- 
tainly as  if  you  were  at  this  moment  in  the  pit  of 
endless  despair.  Instantly,  therefore,  look  to  God  for 
his  blessed  Spirit,  to  enable  you  now  to  begin  the 
work  of  repentance;  and  never  speak  peace  to  your- 
selves, till  each  of  you,  viewing  himself  as  an  undone 
sinner,  shall,  out  of  a  true  sense  of  his  sin,  and  an  ap- 
prehension of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  with  grief 
and  hatred  of  his  sin,  turn  from  it  unto  God,  with  full 
purpose  of,  and  endeavour  after,  new  obedience. 
Amen. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  335 


LECTURE  LXIV. 


Having  shown  what  are  the  inioard  means  by  which 
the  benefits  of  the  great  redemption  of  Christ  are  to 
be  obtained — faith  and  repentance — we  are  now  to 
consider  the  outward  means.  And  our  Catechism 
teaches  US,  that  "The  outward  and  ordinary  means 
whereby  Christ  communicateth  to  us  the  benefits  of 
redemption,  are  his  ordinances,  especially  the  word, 
sacraments,  and  prayers;  all  which  are  made  effectual 
to  the  elect  for  salvation." 

You  may  observe  that  this  answer  speaks  not  only 
oi  outward,  but  oi  ordinary  means — by  which  latter 
designation  we  are  to  understand  those  means  which 
are  most  commonly  and  extensively  used,  and  most 
frequently  blessed,  for  the  conversion  of  sinners  and 
the  edification  of  saints.  All  the  ordinances  of  God 
are  to  be  regarded,  and  are  of  great  use  in  the  church. 
These,  in  our  Larger  Catechism,  are  said  to  be — in 
addition  to  those  mentioned  in  the  answer  before  us — 
"church  government  and  discipline;  the  ministry  and 
maintenance  thereof;  swearing  by  the  name  of  God; 
and  vowing  unto  him."  These,  as  being  divine  ordi- 
nances; that  is  commanded  duties  in  the  divine  word, 
are  all  to  be  regarded  and  observed,  in  their  proper 
place  and  season;  "yet  the  word,  sacraments,  and 
prayer,  are  the  chief,  or  principal  outward  means, 
for  communicating  the  benefits  of  redemption." 

The  providences  of  God  are  doubtless  frequently 
blessed,  to  awaken  and  alarm  careless  sinners,  and  to 
correct  and  recall  backsliding  believers;  but  this  is 
done,  only  by  leading  them  to  reflect  on  their  duty  as 
taught  and  enjoined  in  the  written  word  of  G§d;  and 
therefore  the  providences  themselves,  are  not,  in  the 
Catechism,  considered  as  standing  on  the  same  ground 
with  those  which  are  more  directly  means  of  grace. 


336  LECTURES    ON    THE 

There  are  two  ideas  of  great  importance,  that  here 
demand  your  most  serious  attention.  The  first  is, 
that  tlie  means  have  no  inherent  efficacy  in  them- 
selves, to  produce  the  blessings  of  redemption.  This 
is  distinctly  taught  in  the  answer  before  us,  where  it 
is  said  that  they  are  '•'■  7nadc  eflectual  to  salvation." 
Means  are  not  ends^Z-W^  are  never  to  be  rested  in,  till 
the  end  is  attained,  for  which  alone  they  are  used. 
To  this  error  of  resting  in  means,  there  is  in  many  a 
strong,  and  often,  it  is  to  be  feared,  a  fatal  proneness. 
They  give  a  formal,  and  perhaps  a  pretty  constant 
attendance,  on  at  least  some  of  the  means  of  grace; 
and  they  think  that  this  places  them  in  a  very  hope- 
ful way.  Thus  they  quiet  all  their  fears  and  anxie- 
ties, in  regard  to  their  souls'  eternal  welfare;  till  at 
last,  they  perish  in  an  unconverted,  unsanctified  state. 
Remember  then,  my  dear  youth,  that  till  the  means 
of  grace  have  been  made  effectual  to  bring  saving 
grace  to  your  precious  immortal  spirits,  they  have  not 
answered  the  only  design  for  which  they  were  ap- 
pointed; and  that  if  you  die  without  this  end  being 
reached,  all  the  means  of  grace  you  have  ever  en- 
joyed, will  only  have  served  to  aggravate  your  final 
condemnation.  Sensible  of  this,  look  constantly 
through  the  means,  to  that  God  who  alone  can  give 
them  their  proper  effect;  and  pray,  whenever  you 
use  them,  that  he  would  take  them,  as  instruments, 
into  his  own  hand,  and  make  them  powerful  and  effi- 
cient, to  bring  you  into  a  state  of  reconciliation  with 
himself,  through  Jesus  Christ. 

The  other  idea  to  which  I  have  referred  is,  that  the 
blessings  of  redemption,  or  salvation,  are  not  to  be 
expected  without  the  use  of  the  appointed  means  of 
grace.  That  God  could  convert  sinners,  without  any 
of  the  instrumentality  which  he  has  ordained  for  this 
purpose,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt.  He  could,  cer- 
tainly, in  an  instant,  without  the  intervention  of  any 
means,  change  the  hardest  and  most  rebellious  human 
heart  that  ever  existed,  and  form  it  to  love  and  de- 
light in  himself:  And  something  of  this  kind  appears 
in  fact  to  have  taken  place,  in  the  conversion  of  the 


SHORTER      CATECHISM, 


337 


;  apostle  Paul.  At  the  moment  when  he  said,  "  Lord, 
what  woLildest  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  liis  lieart  ap- 

;  pears  to  have  been  changed;  yet  means  were  still 
ordered  to  be  used,  for  his  instruction,  direciion,  and 
comfort.  This  case,  however,  was  strictly  one  of 
miracle;  a  departure  from  the  ordinary  way,  in  which 
God's  mercy  to  sinners  is  exhibited.  We  know  that 
in  the  usual  dispensation  of  his  grace,  after  human 
beings  have  attained  the  full  exercise  of  their  reason- 
ing and  moral  powers,  his  method  is  to  work  upon 
them  only  through  the  instrumentality  of  second 
causes.  Indeed  the  whole  of  his  ordinary  dispensa- 
tion of  mercy  towards  mankind,  is  a  dispensation 
of  means.  Hence  those  who  talk  of  sinners  loving 
God  before  they  can  with  propriety  use  any  means, 
do,  unless  they  look  for  a  miracle,  point  out  a  way 
of  obtaining  salvation  as  really  contrary  to  that 
which  God  has  appointed,  as  those  who  expect  sal- 
vation in  the  neglect  of  all  means.  In  reality,  these 
extremes,  as  often  happens  with  extremes,  meet  in  a 
point — they  both  expect  an  end  without  means.  The 
only  difference  is,  that  the  former  class  think  that 
means  are  to  be  used  for  the  increase  of  grace,  after 
grace  has  been  communicated  without  them.  Never, 
beloved  youth,  never  expect  that  God  will  meet  with 
you  in  a  saving  manner,  without  the  diligent,  consci- 
entious, prayerful,  and  persevering  use  of  all  the 
means  appointed  by  him,  and  adapted  to  your  exist- 
ing state  and  character.  Avoid,  especially,  the  two 
opposite  errors,  of  resting  in  means,  while  the  end  for 
which  they  were  ordained  has  not  been  reached ;  and 
of  neglecting  the  use  o^  means, undei  the  vain  and  arro- 
gant expectation,  that  God,  in  your  case,  will  depart 
from  his  ordinary  method  of  bringingsinners  to  himself. 
The  answer  before  us  says,  that  the  ordinances  of 
God's  appointment  are  made  eflectual  to  the  elect — 
and  the  implication  is,  to  the  elect  only — for  salva- 
tion. This  is  a  solemn  truth,  which  all  observation 
and  experience  strongly  confirm.  How  often  do  we 
see  that  among  individuals,  who  have  enjoyed  all  the 
same  advantages  of  instruction,  warning,  reproof,  and 


338  LECTURES      ON     THE 

entreaty,  some  are  brought  to  a  saving  knowledge  of 
the  Redeemer,  and  others  remain,  apparently,  desti- 
tute to  the  last  of  any  salutary  impressions.  To  what, 
I  ask,  but  to  the  distinguishing  grace  of  God,  can  this 
difference  be  rationally  attributed?  Doubtless  it  is 
true,  that  the  one  class  made  a  right  improvement, 
and  the  other  did  not,  of  the  privileges  equally  en- 
joyed by  both.  But  the  question  still  returns,  why 
did  one  make  the  right  improvement,  and  the  other 
not  make  it? — The  grace  of  God  alone,  is  the  only 
proper  assignable  cause. 

But,  my  young  friends,  I  solemnly  warn  you  not 
to  abuse  this  truth.  Say  not,  that  if  it  is  uncertain, 
after  all,  that  the  means  of  grace  will  effect  your  sal- 
vation, you  may  as  well  neglect  as  use  them.  Do 
you  not  see  both  the  absurdity  and  the  danger  of 
such  a  conclusion?  By  neglecting  the  means  of 
grace,  you  pass  sentence  on  yourselves  at  once,  that 
perdition  is  your  lot.  If  you  belong  to  the  elect  of 
God,  you  certainly  will  use  the  means,  and  use  them 
faithfully.  All  your  hope  lies  here.  There  is  not  a 
child  of  God  on  earth  whose  state,  before  conversion, 
was  not  exactly  as  uncertain  as  yours  is  now.  Let 
your  resolution,  then,  be  this:  "  I  will  neglect  none 
of  the  means  which  God  makes  effectual  to  all  the 
elect.  I  will  use  the  means  wilh  all  diligence,  fideli- 
ty, and  earnest  prayer,  that  they  may  be  blessed  to 
my  eternal  well  being.  Doing  thus,  I  may  hope, 
and  I  will  hope,  that  the  event  will  prove  to  me,  as 
it  has  to  others,  that  I  have  been  chosen  and  ordauied 
to  life  everlasting.  If  I  am  enabled,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  cordially  to  embrace  the  gospel  offer,  I  shall,  in 
that  way,  make  my  'calling  and  election  sure;'  and 
in  no  other  way  can  I  ever  know,  on  this  side  of  eter- 
nity, whether  I  am  one  of  the  elect  or  not;  unless, 
indeed,  I  make  and  keep  the  awful  resolution,  that  I 
will  not  seek  salvation,  in  the  only  ordinary  way  in 
which  it  is  ever  found." 

Oh,  think  much,  I  beseech  you,  on  what  is  com- 
prehended in  the  inconceivably  interesting  word — 
Salvation!     It  implies,  even  in  the  present  life,  a 


SHORTER      CATECHISM. 


339 


begun  deliverance  from  all  sin  and  misery,  and  a  be- 
gun possession  of  all  the  happiness  which  arises  from 
the  friendship  of  God,  a  sanctified  providence,  and 
the  hope  of  eternal  felicity.  In  the  world  to  come, 
it  implies  the  two-fold  blessedness  of  an  assured  de- 
liverance from  the  deserved  punishment  of  sin,  in  all 
the  horrors  of  the  second  death,  and  an  exaltation  to 
all  the  high  and  ineffable  bliss  of  the  paradise  of  God ; 
where,  with  the  General  Assembly  and  church  of  the 
first  born,  whose  names  are  written  in  heaven,  and 
with  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  every  saved 
soul  shall  spend  an  eternity,  in  such  delights  as  eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  the  heart  of  man 
conceived.  This  is  the  great  salvation  at  which 
you  are  to  aim,  in  the  use  of  the  means  of  grace. 
Need  I  ask,  if  it  is  not  worth  every  effort,  and  every 
agony,  which  its  attainment  may  demand ! 

"  Salvation !  O  the  joyful  sound  I 
'Tis  pleasure  to  our  ears ; 
A  sovereign  balm  for  every  wound, 
A  cordial  for  our  fears. 

Buried  in  sorrow  and  in  sin, 

At  hell's  dark  door  we  lay ; 
But  we  arise,  by  grace  divine, 

To  see  a  heavenly  day. 

Salvation  I  let  the  echo  fly 

The  spacious  earth  around ; 
While  all  the  armies  of  the  sky 

Conspire  to  raise  the  sound." 

We  proceed  to  consider  the  instrumentality  of  the 
word  of  God  in  the  conversion  and  subsequent  edifi- 
cation of  sinners.  "  The  Spirit  of  God  maketh  the 
reading,  but  especially  the  preaching  of  the  word,  an 
effectual  means  of  convincing  and  converting  sinners, 
and  of  building  them  up  in  holiness  and  comfort, 
through  faith  unto  salvation." 

The  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  under  which  it  is  our 
high  and  peculiar  privilege  to  live,  is  a  dispensation 
of  the  Spirit — It  is  so  in  a  more  eminent  degree,  by 
far,  than  the  preceding  patriarchal  and  Mosaic  dispen- 
sations.    Our  Catechism,  as  we  have  heretofore  seen, 


340 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


teaches  us,  that  "  We  are  made  partakers  of  the  re- 
demption purchased  hy  Christ,  by  the  effectual  appli- 
cation of  it  to  us  by  his  Holy  Spirit/'  The  applica- 
tion of  the  finished  work  of  the  Redeemer  to  his  elect 
people,  both  before  and  after  their  conversion,  belongs 
officially  to  God  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  are  "born  of 
the  Spirit,"  and  all  their  graces  are  "graces  of  the 
Spirit."  Neither  the  reading  nor  the  preaching  of 
the  word,  would  ever  become  effectual  to  the  salva- 
tion of  a  single  soul,  if  they  were  not  made  so  by  the 
powerful  influence  of  the  blessed  Spirit.  This  is  a 
truth  never  to  be  overlooked  or  forgotten.  The  word 
of  God  is  called  the  "  sword  of  the  Spirit;"  and  as  a 
sword  can  effect  nothing  without  a  hand  to  wield  it, 
so  the  word  of  God  itself  remains  wholly  inoperative, 
in  the  matter  of  our  salvation,  till  it  is  taken  into  the 
hand  of  the  Spirit,  and  applied  by  his  almighty  ener- 
gy, to  the  purpose  for  which  it  has  been  provided. 
Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind,  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  does  not,  ordinarily,  work  any  saving 
change  in  the  hearts  of  adult  persons,  without  the 
word;  and  hence  the  unspeakable  importance  that 
the  word  should  be  carefully  read  and  faithfully 
preached. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark,  that  by  "the 
word,"  in  the  answer  before  us,  we  are  to  understand 
the  whole  revealed  will  of  God  contained  in  the  Bible, 
consisting  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  No  part 
of  this  word  is  superfluous;  although  as  I  have  here- 
tofore shown,  some  portions  of  it  are  more  practical 
than  others,  and  on  that  account  ought  to  be  more 
frequently  perused,  and  more  diligently  studied.  But 
it  is  an  error  which  cannot  be  committed  without 
suffering  loss,  to  omit  the  attentive  and  repeated  read- 
ing of  Me  tvhole  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  In  ordinary 
circumstances,  a  portion  of  the  sacred  volume  ought 
to  be  read  daily,  by  every  individual  who  possesses 
and  is  able  to  read  it.  This  practice  has  sometimes 
been  blessed  to  the  conversion  of  unsanctified  men; 
although  perhaps  adopted  at  first  as  a  matter  of  edu- 
cation, or  merely  as  constituting  a  good  and  useful 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  34 1 

habit.  But  it  is  a  practice  which  no  professing  Chris- 
tian should  fail  to  adopt,  and  carefully  maintain.  Its 
omission,  I  hesitate  not  to  say,  is  a  neglect  of  a  very 
important  mean  of  cherishing  a  lively  and  comfortable 
state  of  religion  in  the  soul.  The  sacred  Scriptures 
ought  also  to  be  read  daily  in  every  Christian  house- 
hold, in  connexion  with  family  prayer;  and  it  is  a 
good  custom  to  read  from  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
New,  alternately:  and  if  a  short  commentary,  with 
some  practical  observations,  such  as  appear  in  Scott's 
Family  Bible,  or  Doddridge's  Family  Expositor,  be 
read  in  connexion  with  the  sacred  text,  it  may  serve 
to  illustrate,  and  more  deeply  to  impress  divine  truth, 
on  the  minds  of  all  who  compose  the  family  circle. 
The  reading  of  a  portion  of  holy  writ  ought,  likewise, 
in  my  judgment,  to  form  an  indispensable  part  of 
every  public  exercise  of  religious  worship  in  the  house 
of  God.  He  is  wont  to  honour  his  own  word,  and 
no  words  of  men  ought  to  supplant  it  in  his  sanctuary. 
A  single  text — a  short  sentence — of  inspired  truth, 
shall  sometimes  go  with  an  authority,  and  a  power, 
and  an  effect,  to  the  conscience  and  heart  of  a  hearer, 
beyond  any  thing,  or  every  thing  else,  that  can  be 
uttered.  And  although,  happily,  many  more  can 
now  peruse  the  Bible  for  themselves,  than  were  able 
to  do  so  some  years  since,  yet  probably,  in  most  of 
our  large  promiscuous  assemblies,  there  are  still  some 
who  cannot  read;  and  there  certainly  are  many  who 
read  the  holy  book  by  far  too  seldom  and  too  little. 
But  if  there  were  not  an  individual  of  either  of  these 
classes,  God's  word,  as  already  intimated,  should  be 
an  inseparable  part  of  his  public  worship.  To  the 
people  of  God  it  is  always  precious,  and  always  new; 
and  a  text  which  has  been  read  a  hundred  times, 
shall,  on  a  new  hearing,  present  some  new  view  of 
divine  truth,  or  come  with  a  power  and  sweetness 
never  known  before. 

But  the  Catechism  teaches  us,  that  '•  especially  the 
preaching  of  the  word,"  is  made  an  effectual  means 
of  convincing,  converting,  and  edifying  those  who 
hear  it.   Inspiration  itself  testifies,  that  "faith  cometh 


342  LECTURES    ON    THE 

by  hearing,"  and  all  experience,  from  the  days  of  the 
apostle  who  wrote  these  words,  to  the  present  hour, 
bears  witness  to  the  truth  of  his  declaration.  Pro- 
bably a  hundred,  perhaps  a  thousand  converts,  have, 
in  every  age,  been  made  by  the  ear,  for  one  that  has 
been  made  by  the  eye.  In  the  matter  of  edification, 
after  conversion,  the  proportion  may  have  been  less, 
but  I  believe  it  has  always  been  great,  in  favour  of 
hearing,  beyond  that  of  reading.  Those  who  can 
hear,  are  not  only  more  numerous  than  those  who 
can  read,  but  the  attention  vsecured  and  the  impres- 
sion produced,  by  the  human  voice  and  the  appear- 
ance and  manner  of  a  living  speaker,  are  far  greater 
than  is  ordinarily  made  by  truth,  however  pertinently 
stated,  when  it  is  to  be  received  from  a  book,  or  a 
manuscript,  with  nothing  to  enforce  it  but  its  own 
naked,  inherent  excellence.  But  what  is  chiefly  to 
be  regarded,  in  relation  to  the  point  before  us,  is, 
that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  God's  appointed 
and  especial  ordinance,  for  the  conversion  and  edifi- 
cation of  mankind.  Hence,  this  is  the  instrumentali- 
ty which  he  will  chiefly  bless;  and  on  his  blessing 
the  whole  efficiency  of  all  means,  intended  for  our 
spiritual  benefit,  entirely  depends.  No  matter  what 
may  be  our  estimate  of  the  natural  adaptedness  of 
any  means  to  promote  our  soul's  welfare ;  if  we  put 
it  in  place  of  God's  ordinance,  we  have  reason  to  ex- 
pect that  he  will  not  bless,  but  frown  upon  it;  and  if 
so,  nothing  beneficial,  but  something  injurious,  will 
be  the  certain  result.  Those  therefore,  who  "  forsake 
the  assembling  of  themselves  together,  as  the  manner 
of  some  is" — those  who  seldom  or  never  enter  a  place 
of  public  worship,  under  the  pretence  that  they  can 
read  a  better  sermon  at  home  than  they  can  hear  at 
church,  or  that  they  can  be  more  devout  in  private 
than  in  public,  have  no  reason  to  expect  the  divine 
blessing,  on  their  arrogant  substitution  of  their  own 
invention  for  God's  appointment.  When  sickness,  or 
any  other  sufficient  hindrance  to  an  attendance  on  the 
preached  word,  meets  us  in  the  providence  of  God, 
we  then  indeed  have  reason  to  hope  that  our  retire- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  343 

ment  may  be  made  a  little  sanctuary  to  us,  in  the  use 
of  reading,  meditation,  and  prayer.  This,  doubtless, 
the  people  of  God  have  often  experienced.  But  the 
avoidance  of  hearing  the  word  preached,  when  it  is  a 
matter  of  voluntary  choice,  I  am  convinced  is  never 
blessed;  and  I  certainly  never  knew  an  individual, 
with  whom  this  was  habitual,  that  gave  any  rational 
evidence  whatever  of  practical  piety. 

It  follows  likewise,  from  what  we  are  considering, 
that  in  our  endeavours  to  send  the  gospel  to  any  un- 
evangelized  place,  or  to  the  world  at  large,  nothing 
can  supercede  the  necessity,  or  take  the  place  of  the 
preached  word,  with  any  prospect  of  general  suc- 
cess. Other  instrumentalities  may,  and  must  be 
used.  They  are  indispensable,  as  auxiliaries,  but 
the  preached  word  must  still  be  the  principal  means. 
That  converts  are  made — yea,  numerous  converts 
when  taken  collectively — by  reading  the  Bible  and 
religious  tracts,  I  readily  and  joyfully  admit.  But  if 
the  Bible  were  faithfully  translated  into  every  lan- 
guage under  heaven — and  we  ought  to  desire,  and 
pray,  and  labour,  and  give  liberally  of  our  substance, 
that  it  may  be  so  translated — and  if  every  individual 
of  our  race  had  a  copy,  and  could  read  it  freely,  with 
expository  and  hortatory  comments  to  any  amount — 
all  this  would  not  form  an  adequate  substitute  for 
God's  ordinance  of  a  preached  gospel.  It  would  still 
be  necessary  to  the  conversion  of  the  world,  that  a 
host  of  well-informed,  devoted,  apostolic  joreacAer* 
of  the  ivord^  should  go  forth  to  every  nation  and  tribe 
of  our  sin-ruined  world.  Oral  instruction,  as  al- 
ready shown,  ever  has  been,  and  from  the  nature  of 
man  and  of  human  society  it  ever  must  be,  the  prin- 
cipal and  most  efficient  method  of  communicating  in- 
formation to  the  ignorant,  and  of  stirring  up  the  well- 
informed,  by  refreshing  their  minds  with  what  they 
know,  and  urging  them  to  act  agreeably  to  what 
they  believe  and  profess.  The  Divine  ordinance  of 
a  preached  gospel  is  manifestly  adapted  to  the  consti- 
tution which  God  has  given  us.  We  can,  therefore, 
in  this  instance,  clearly  see  the  fitness  of  the  means 


344  LECTURES    ON    THE 

appointed  by  God,  to  the  end  contemplated,  or  the 
effect  intended  to  be  produced;  although  his  appoint- 
ment, plainly  revealed,  would  be  obligatory,  if  its  fit- 
ness were  not  discernible  by  us.  1  have  dwelt  longer 
on  this  topic  than  I  should  have  done,  if  I  had  not 
thought  that  there  is  perceptible  at  present,  in  the 
laudable  zeal  which  prevails  to  establish  and  patro- 
nize benevolent  institutions,  some  danger  of  not  giv- 
ing its  due  prominence  and  importance  to  the  regu- 
lar preaching  of  the  gospel.  In  penning  the  follow- 
ing beautiful  lines,  Cowper  wrote  like  a  discerning 
Christian,  as  well  as  an  elegant  poet: — 

"  I  say  the  pulpit,  (in  the  sober  use 
Of  its  legitimate,  peculiar  powers,) 
Must  stand  acknowledged,  while  the  world  shall  stand. 
The  most  important  and  effectual  guard. 
Support  and  ornament  of  virtue's  cause. 
There  stands  the  messenger  of  truth :  there  stands 
The  legate  of  the  skies! — His  theme  divine. 
His  office  sacred,  his  credentials  clear. 
By  him  the  violated  law  speaks  out 
Its  thunders;  and  by  him,  in  strains  as  sweet 
As  angels  use,  the  gospel  whispers  peace. 
He  'stablishes  the  strong,  restores  the  weak. 
Reclaims  the  wanderer,  binds  the  broken  heart. 
And  armed  himself  in  panoply  complete 
Of  heavenly  temper,  furnishes  with  arms. 
Bright  as  his  own,  and  trains,  by  every  rule 
Of  holy  discipline,  to  glorious  war. 
The  sacramental  host  of  God's  elect." 

It  is  only,  indeed,  when  the  gospel  is  purely  preach- 
ed, that  we  have  any  reason  to  expect  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  will  render  it  effectual  to  the  salvation  of 
those  that  hear  it.  If  the  great  and  peculiar  doctrines 
of  the  gospel  are  kept  back,  disguised,  misrepresent- 
ed, or  but  slightly  noticed;  or  if  abstract,  philosophi- 
cal, moral,  or  metaphysical  speculations,  take  the 
place  of  the  plain,  pungent,  and  practical  exhibitions 
of  evangelical  truth;  or  if  a  stilted  style,  or  a  florid 
eloquence,  demonstrate  that  he  who  occupies  the  sa- 
cred desk,  is  aiming  rather  to  preach  himself  than 
Christ  Jesus;  if,  in  a  word,  the  whole  counsel  of  God 
is  not  declared  with  simplicity  and  fidelity,  the  sav- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  345 

ing  effects  of  a  preached  gospel  are  not  iikely  to  ap- 
j)ear.  But  if  sound  doctrine  be  preaclied  plainly, 
faithfnily,  sincerely,  wisely,  zealously,  diligently,  and 
perseveringly,  God,  the  Spirit  will,  in  his  own  best 
time,  and  to  such  a  degree  as  in  his  holy  sovereignty 
he  may  see  to  be  right,  bless  it  to  the  conviction  and 
conversion  of  sinners,  and  the  edification  of  saints. 
This  he  has  always  done;  and  this  he  may  still  be 
expected  to  do.  The  promise  is  sure — "  My  word 
shall  not  return  unto  me  void."  At  one  time,  some 
careless  individuals,  here  and  there  in  a  congregation, 
will  be  effectually  awakened,  convinced  of  their  sin- 
ful and  undone  state,  and  be  eventually  led  to  Christ 
Jesus,  as  the  only  refuge  and  hope  of  the  soul.  At 
another  time  or  place,  the  influences  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  will  descend  on  all  around,  like  the  rain  or 
dew  of  iieaven;  and  a  glorious  and  general  revival 
of  pure  religion  will  be  witnessed.  On  every  side, 
the  anxious  inquiry  will  be  heard — "What  shall  we 
do  to  be  saved?"  Conviction  of  sin  will  be  pungent, 
deep,  and  genuine;  conversions  will  be  multiplied  ex- 
ceedingly; and  a  great  company  of  believers  will  be 
added  to  the  Lord  and  to  his  church.  0  that  such  a 
display  of  God's  grace  and  mercy  as  this,  might  be 
witnessed  among  you,  my  beloved  youth!  0  that 
you  might  all  be  seen  pressing  into  the  kingdom  of 
God,  and  taking  it  by  a  holy  violence! 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  after  even  genuine 
converts  have  been  gathered  into  the  church,  they 
still  need  to  be  built  up  in  holiness  and  comfort, 
"through  faith  unto  salvation."  This  I  fear  is,  at 
the  present  time,  not  duly  considered.  Not  long 
since,  I  was  told  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel  whose 
labours  had  been  remarkably  blest,  in  a  congrega- 
tion of  which  he  had  been  the  pastor,  and  who  as- 
signed it  as  the  principal  reason  for  his  being  willing 
to  accept  a  call,  which  he  had  received  to  another 
charge,  that  where  he  had  been  labouring,  there  were 
few  or  no  sinners  remaining  to  be  converted.  Now, 
I  am  ready  to  admit  that  the  great  Head  of  the 
church  distributes   his  gifts   to  his  ministering  ser- 

VOL.    II. — 23 


346 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


vants  with  a  considerable  variety;  and  that  some  are 
better  qualified  to  alarm  the  thoughtless,  and  even  to 
direct  inquiring  souls  to  Christ  for  salvation,  than  to 
edify  believers,  and  furnish  constantly  the  food  best 
suited  to  promote  and  speed  tlieir  growth  in  grace. 
But  it  ought  to  be  recollected  that  the  word  pastor 
Itself,  is  derived  from  the  office  of  one  who  feeds, 
as  well  as  gathers  and  protects  a  flock.  "  Feed  my 
sheep,  feed  my  lambs,"  said  our  blessed  Saviour  to 
the  apostle  Peter.  And  the  solemn  charge  of  the 
apostle  Paul  to  the  Ephesian  elders  was,  "  Take 
heed,  therefore,  unto  yourselves,  and  unto  the  flock 
over  the  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  over- 
seers, to  feed  the  church  of  God,  which  he  hath  pur- 
chased with  his  own  blood."  To  resolve  cases  of 
conscience,  to  direct  and  enlighten  the  perplexed,  to 
comfort  spiritual  mourners,  and  to  quicken  and  edify 
the  wJiole  body  of  the  faithful,  is  a  most  important 
part  of  the  pastor's  office  and  duty.  It  is  a  part 
v/hich  he  ought  carefully  to  study,  and  for  which  iie 
should  seek  to  qualify  himself,  to  the  full  extent  of 
his  powers.  It  is  not  easy  to  describe  the  sacred 
pleasure,  and  the  unspeakable  benefit,  which  estab- 
lished Christians  derive  from  the  preaching  of  an 
able  and  faithful  pastor,  who,  from  Sabbath  to  Sab- 
bath, feeds  them  with  what  they  love  and  seek,  the 
unadulterated  milk  of  the  word.  They  are  refresh- 
ed, they  are  strengthened,  they  are  invigarated,  they 
become  increasingly  exemplary,  their  inward  peace, 
holy  joy,  and  steadfastness  in  the  faith  are  augment- 
ed, and  they  bring  forth  much  fruit  to  the  praise  and 
glory  of  God  their  Heavenly  Father.  In  a  word,  and 
as  the  answer  before  ns  well  expresses  it,  "  they  are 
built  up  in  lioliness  and  comfort,  through  faith  unto 
salvation."  May  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  fur- 
nish it  with  many  such  pastors;  and  may  the  Holy 
Spirit  crown  their  labours  with  his  richest  blessings, 
and  prepare  them  at  last  to  stand  with  their  flocks 
before  his  throne  in  heaven,  and  say,  '•'  Here  are  we, 
and  the  children  thou  hast  given  us."     Amen. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  347 


LECTURE  LXV. 


The  manner  in  which  the  word  of  God  is  to  be  read 
and  heard,  that  it  may  become  effectual  to  salvation, 
is  thus  s'ated  in  our  Catechism — "That  the  word 
may  become  effectual  to  salvation,  we  must  attend 
thereunto  with  diligence,  preparation,  and  prayer; 
receive  it  with  faith  and  love ;  lay  it  up  in  our  hearts, 
and  practice  it  in  our  lives." 

To  secure  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  must  be  ac- 
knowledged to  be  the  great  concern  and  chief  busi- 
ness of  life,  by  all  who  profess  to  believe  in  a  future 
state  of  rewards  and  punishments.  If  this  be  so,  and 
if  it  is  from  the  word  of  God  alone  that  we  can  learn 
the  way  of  salvation,  then  it  is  obviously  not  too 
much  to  say,  that  an  attention  to  the  word  of  God 
should  be  regarded  as  the  principal  object  of  our  ex- 
istence in  this  world,  and  that  we  ought  to  treat  it 
accordingly.  How  few,  alas!  do  this;  and  yet,  in 
doing  it,  consists  our  giving  that  attention  to  the 
divine  word,  the  revealed  truth  of  God,  which  our 
duty  demands,  and  the  answer  before  us  enjoins. 

Our  Catechism  teaches  us,  that  the  duty  we  here 
contemplate,  is  to  be  performed — 

1.  With  diligence;  that  is,  says  Fisher,  "with  a  care- 
ful observing  and  embracing  of  every  seasonable  op- 
portunity that  may  offer  in  providence,  for  reading 
and  hearing  the  word  of  life."  How  easily,  my  young 
friends,  do  we  find  time  and  opportunities  to  think  of 
what  we  love;  to  attend  to  that  in  which  our  hearts 
and  affections  are  much  interested;  to  pursue  after 
and  improve  in  that  in  which  we  find  our  happiness, 
and  in  which  we  believe  our  highest  and  best  inter- 
ests are  deeply  involved  ?  Now,  let  the  reading  and 
hearing  of  the  word  of  God  be  the  thing  which  we 
thus  regard,  and  we  shall  find  much  time  to  read  and 


348  LECTUKES     ON     THE 

meditate  on  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  we  shall  seize 
many  an  opportunity  to  hear  the  gospel  preached, 
which  we  should  otherwise  neglect;  and  this  too, 
without  permitting  one  duty  to  crowd  out  another, 
or  being  chargeable  with  the  neglect  of  any  obliga- 
tion, which  our  place  or  station  in  life  imposes  on  us. 
Believe  it,  my  dear  youth,  the  want  of  diligence  in 
reading  and  hearing  the  word  of  God,  arises  princi- 
pally from  the  want  of  love  to  the  exercise.  If  you 
could,  with  truth,  say  with  the  Psalmist,  "Thy  testi- 
monies are  my  delight  and  my  counsellors.  The  law 
of  thy  mouth  is  better  unto  me  than  thousands  of  gold 
and  silver.  0  how  love  I  thy  law!  it  is  my  medita- 
tion all  the  day.  How  sweet  are  thy  words  unto  my 
taste !  yea,  sweeter  than  honey  to  my  mouth !  There- 
fore, 1  love  thy  commandment  above  gold,  yea,  above 
fine  gold.  I  prevented  the  dawning  of  the  morning, 
and  cried:  I  hoped  in  thy  word.  Mine  eyes  pre- 
vented the  night  watches,  that  I  might  meditate  m 
thy  word.  I  rejoice  at  thy  word  as  one  that  findeth 
great  spoil." — Were  this,  I  say,  the  language  of  your 
hearts,  how  many  books  of  little  value,  to  say  nothing 
of  those  of  pernicious  tendency,  would  you  lay  aside, 
for  the  reading  and  studying  of  the  Bible?  What  a 
blessed  familiarity  would  you  acquire  with  its  holy 
truths  ?  How  clearly  would  you  understand,  and  how 
faithfully  apply  them?  How  readily  would  you  fore- 
go every  place  and  opportunity  of  even  lawful,  not 
to  speak  of  unlawful  amusement,  if  it  interfered  with 
the  hearing  of  a  sermon,  a  lecture  on  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures, or  any  occasion  of  acquiring  religious  instruc- 
tion or  improvement?  And  be  assured,  if  the  word 
of  God  shall  ever  become  effectual  to  your  salvation, 
it  will,  in  some  good  degree,  produce  these  very  effects 
on  your  hearts  and  practice.  You  will,  in  this  man- 
ner, prove  that  your  attention  to  the  reading  and  hear- 
ing of  God's  word  has  been  diligent. 

2.  Preparation;  that  \s, soma  special  preparation, 
for  reading  and  hearing  the  word  of  God  is  neces- 
sary, if  we  hope  to  experience  its  salutary  and  saving 
effects.     The  human  mind  is  so  constituted,  that  it 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  349 

cannot  readily  pass  from  one  subject  to  another  of  a 
different  character,  without  some  preparation;  and 
least  of  all  is  it  reasonable  to  expect  this,  when  the 
transition  is  to  be  made  from  sensible  objects,  to  spi- 
ritual contemplations.  We  must  take  some  time,  and 
put  forth  vigorous  efforts,  to  make  our  thoughts  quit 
their  hold  on  the  world,  and  become  concentrated  on 
divine  and  invisible  things;  to  change  their  employ- 
ment from  thinking  on  secular  occupations  and  pur- 
suits, to  meditations  on  sacred,  revealed  truth;  to 
turn  their  current  from  earth  and  time,  to  heaven  and 
eternity.  In  making  this  preparation,  ''  we  should 
consider  that  the  word  has  the  authority  of  God 
stamped  upon  it;  that  it  is  Himself  that  speaketh  to 
us  therein;  that  it  is  his  ordinance  for  our  salvation; 
and  will  be  the  savour  either  of  life  or  death  unto 
us."*  We  should  "  duly  consider  how  we  need  in- 
struction, or,  at  least  to  have  truths  brought  to  our 
remembrance,  and  impressed  on  our  heart;  as  also 
that  this  is  an  ordinance  that  God  has  instituted  for 
that  purpose.  And  as  it  is  stamped  with  his  autho- 
rity, so  we  may  depend  on  it,  that  his  eye  will  be 
upon  us,  to  observe  our  frame  of  spirit  under  the 
word.  And  we  ought  to  have  an  awful  sense  of  his 
perfections,  to  excite  in  us  a  holy  reverence,  and  the 
exercise  of  other  graces  necessary  to  our  engaging  in 
this  duty,  in  a  right  manner,  "t  The  chief  reason  why 
the  reading  and  hearing  of  the  word  of  God  produces 
so  little  effect  is,  that  people  go  to  it  in  a  careless, 
thoughtless  manner.  If  they  would  endeavour  to 
prepare  for  it,  in  the  manner  that  has  now  been 
briefly  stated,  we  should  witness  other  results;  its 
power  and  influence  would  be  seen  and  felt,  far 
oftener  and  more  generally  than  they  are,  both  in  the 
conviction  and  conversion  of  sinners,  and  the  edifica- 
tion and  comfort  of  the  people  of  God.  Especially 
would  this  be  the  case,  if  to  what  has  been  recom- 
mended, there  should  be  added — 

3.  Prayer.  This  is,  indeed,  essential.  "  We  are  not 

*  Fisher. '  t  Ridgley. 


350  LECTURES    OS    THE 

sufficient  of  ourselves  to  think  an}''  thing  as  of  our- 
selves; but  our  sufficiency  is  of  God."  "Without  me," 
said  the  Saviour,  "ye  can  do  nothing."  Let  us  never 
forget  that  it  is  God  alone,  who  can  rightly  dispose  and 
effectually  enable  us  to  perform  any  religious  duty — 
perform  it  so  as  to  be  either  acceptable  to  him,  or  pro- 
fitable to  our  own  souls.  If,  therefore,  prayer  to  God 
for  his  gracious  aid  be  neglected,  all  other  means  or 
efforts  for  obtaining  edification,  will  be  likely  to  prove 
entirely  fruitless.  We  ought  to  confess  with  humility 
before  God  our  inability  to  hear  his  word  in  a  right 
manner,  without  his  special,  gracious  assistance;  and 
to  plead  his  condescending  promise  to  give  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  those  who  ask  him.  Devotional  exercises 
of  this  kind,  have  a  natural  tendency  to  put  us  in  a 
suitable  frame  of  mind  to  read  or  hear  divine  truth 
with  advantage,  as  well  as  to  obtain  those  divine  suc- 
cours on  which  profitable  reading  and  hearing  must 
always  depend.  Especially  when  we  are  about  to 
go  to  the  public  worship  of  God  in  his  sanctuary,  we 
ought  to  pray  that  God  would  assist  his  ministers  in 
preaching  his  word,  so  that  what  they  deliver  shall 
be  agreeable  to  his  mind  and  will;  and  also,  that  it 
may  be  carried  with  resistless  power  to  the  consciences 
and  hearts,  both  of  ourselves  and  of  all  our  fellow 
worshippers.  0  that  there  were  more  fervent  and 
effectual  prayer,  that  divine  truth  might  be  purely 
and  faithfully  set  forth,  and  be  made  the  power  and 
wisdom  of  God  unto  salvation,  to  those  who  hear  it! 
0  that  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  the  teachers 
of  Sabbath  schools  and  Bible  classes,  had  a  larger 
share  in  the  fervent  pleadings  of  God's  people,  for  the 
right  discharge  of  their  sacred  duties,  and  for  his  spe- 
cial and  signal  blessing  on  their  faithful  labours! 
Then  should  we  see,  more  conspicuously  than  we 
have  yet  seen,  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise — "  My 
word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  it  shall  ac- 
complish that  which  I  please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in 
the  thing  whereto  I  sent  it." 

4.  In  order  to  the  word  of  God  becoming  effectual 
to  salvation,  we  must  receive  it  ivith  faith  and  love. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  351 

The  sacred  writer  speaks  it  to  the  high  praise  of  the 
Bereans,  that  "  they  received  the  word  with  all  readi- 
ness of  mind ;"  and  the  apostle,  in  writing  to  the  Thes- 
salonians,  uses  this  renfiarkable  and  emphatic  lan- 
guage— "  For  this  cause  also  thank  we  God  without 
ceasing,  because  when  ye  received  the  word  of  God 
which  ye  heard  of  us,  ye  received  it  not  as  the  word 
of  men,  but  (as  it  is  in  truth)  the  word  of  God,  which 
effectually  worketh  also  in  you  that  believe."  In 
these  passages  of  sacred  writ,  we  have  both  the  sanc- 
tion and  the  illustration  of  the  doctrine  of  our  Cate- 
chism, in  the  points  now  before  us.  To  receive  the 
word  with  all  readiness,  is  to  open  our  minds  freely 
and  thankfully  to  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  lively  oracles,  indited  by  his  own  inspiration;  to 
give  to  them  that  welcome  reception  into  our  minds, 
which  we  yield  to  a  message  of  our  best  friend,  in 
relation  to  our  most  important  interests.  We  receive 
the  word  in  faith,  when  it  comes  to  us  as  being,  not 
the  word  of  man,  but  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word  of 
God,  on  which  we  place  the  most  implicit  reliance; 
as  being  a  communication  from  that  great  and  glo- 
rious Being  v/hose  "  attribute  it  is,  that  he  cannot  lie;" 
and  on  wfiich,  therefore,  we  may  rest  whatever  re- 
lates, not  only  to  our  happiness  in  this  world,  but  to 
our  eternal  well-being — rest  all  our  interests,  hopes, 
and  expectations,  as  on  a  foundation  more  stable  than 
the  pillars  of  creation;  "for  heaven  and  earth  shall 
indeed  pass  away,  but  my  words,"  says  the  Saviour, 
"shall  not  pass  away."  Whether  the  word  of  God 
therefore  speak  to  us  in  promises,  or  in  threalenings, 
of  facts,  or  in  doctrine,  we  shall,  if  we  receive  it  in 
faith,  take  all  that  it  declares  as  the  most  unquestion- 
able verity,  and  as  such  bring  it  home  to  our  hearts 
and  consciences,  according  to  its  import,  as  applicable 
to  our  own  slate  and  character,  or  to  the  church  of 
God  and  the  world  of  mankind.  This  faith,  more- 
over, will  work  effectually  in  them  that  thus  believe; 
that  is,  it  will  be  "  a  faith  that  worketh  by  love." 
We  shall  cordially  love  the  word  of  God:  love  it  just 
as  we  have  it  in  the  sacred  volume;  love  the  whole 


352  LECTURES     ON     THE 

and  every  part  of  it;  love  that  which  warns  and  re- 
proves, as  well  as  that  which  encourages  and  comforts 
us;  love  to  apply  it,  and  love  to  obey  it.  For  we  are 
to  add, 

5.  That  we  must  lay  it  vp  in  our  hearts  and  prac- 
tise it  in  our  lives.  Laying  up  the  divine  word  in 
our  hearts,  is  a  striking  and  beautiful  expression,  full 
of  important  meaning.  It  teaches  us  to  regard  the 
truth  of  God  contained  in  his  word,  as  a  precious  and 
invaluable  treasure;  and  our  hearts  as  the  place  of 
deposite,  where  we  are  to  lay  it  up  for  safe-keeping, 
and  for  constant  use,  as  we  have  occasion  to  draw 
upon  it.  flappy,  indeed,  is  he  who  does  this:  happy 
the  man  whose  memory  is  richly  stored  with  the  word 
of  God;  whose  understanding,  aided  and  enlightened 
by  the  Spirit  of  grace,  apprehends  its  true  scope  and 
design;  whose  will  readily  and  delightfully  chooses 
all  that  it  enjoins,  and  refuses  all  that  it  forbids;  and 
whose  affections  are  naost  powerfully  attracted  by  it, 
most  firmly  attached  to  it,  and  most  delightfully  ex- 
ercised under  the  influence  of  its  sacred  truths.  Now, 
in  whomsover  this  is  realized,  the  whole  life  and  con- 
versation of  the  party  concerned  will  receive  its  co- 
lour, tone,  direction,  and  character,  from  the  temper 
of  the  heart:  "  For  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart," 
said  our  Lord,  "  the  mouth  speaketh."  "  The  tree  is 
known  by  its  fruit;  a  good  man  out  of  the  good  trea- 
sure of  his  heart  bringeth  forth  good  things."  He 
whose  heart  is  right  in  the  sight  of  God,  will  discover 
it  by  obedience  to  all  God's  commandments.  He  will 
be  a  truly  devout  man.  Communion  with  God  will 
be  his  delight.  He  will  be  cordial  and  exemplary  in 
the  worship  of  his  Maker,  both  in  private  and  in  pub- 
lic. He  will  feel  such  an  indebtedness  to  his  Re- 
deemer, that  he  will  withhold  no  effort  or  service,  by 
which  the  cause  of  his  dear  and  adored  Lord  may  be 
promoted.  He  will  be  ready  to  speak  a  word  for  his 
Saviour,  whenever  a  favourable  opportunity  offers. 
He  will  contribute  liberally  of  his  substance,  accord- 
ing to  his  ability,  for  supporting  and  extending  the 
influence  of  the  gospel.     He  will  feel  the  importance 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  353 

of  endeavouring  to  adorn  and  recommend  the  religion 
of  Christ,  in  his  whole  life  and  conversation.  His 
light  will  so  shine  before  men,  that  I  hey  will  take 
knowledge  of  him  that  he  has  been  with  Jesus;  and 
seeing  his  good  works,  (hey  will  be  led  by  his  exam- 
ple to  admire  the  grace  of  God  in  him.  His  religion 
will  appear  in  every  thing  with  which  he  has  a  con- 
cern, it  will  make  him  conscientious  in  all  that  he 
does.  By  the  influence  which  the  gospel  has  upon 
him,  he  will  be  rendered  a  better  man  in  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life,  in  every  connexion  which  he  holds  with 
society — he  will  be  a  better  husband,  a  better  father, 
a  bettor  son,  a  better  neighbour,  a  better  friend,  a 
better  citizen.  He  will  be  just  and  upright  in  all  his 
dealings;  he  will  endeavour  to  owe  no  man  anything 
but  a  debt  of  love;  he  will  fulfil  all  his  engagements 
and  contracts  with  punctuality;  and  his  regard  to 
truth  will  be  so  sacred,  that  his  word  will  be  as  much 
accredited  as  his  oath. 

My  beloved  youth — It  is  a  regard  to  this  last  part 
of  the  answer  before  us — it  is  by  pi^actising  the  truth 
of  God  in  our  lives — that  our  character  is  to  be  ascer- 
tained. It  is  only  the  man  who  lives  religion,  that  is 
truly  and  savingly  religious.  The  inward  principles 
of  faith,  love,  and  a  renewed  heart,  are,  indeed,  the 
source  and  spring  of  a  holy  life,  without  which  it  can 
never  appear  in  its  genuine  excellence  and  lustre. 
But  men  may  talk  and  profess  much — and  sometimes 
they  do — about  their  inward  feelings  and  exercises, 
when  their  lives  are  far  from  exemplary;  and  all  this 
religion  of  the  tongue  is  extremely  suspicious,  while 
they  do  not  practise  what  the  gospel  requires.  "  Show 
me  thy  faith  by  thy  works,"  is  the  demand  which  we 
have  a  right  to  make  of  every  man.  Let  nothing,  I 
entreat  you,  short  of  this,  satisfy  you  in  regard  to 
your  own  spiritual  state.  If  you  have  clear  views  of 
God's  holy  law,  and  right  apprehensions  of  your- 
selves, you  will  indeed  see  cause  continually  to  la- 
ment your  imperfections  and  short-comings.  Yet  you 
may  have,  and  ought  to  have,  "the  testimony  of  your 
conscience  that  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  not 


354  LECTURES     ON      THE 

with  fleshly  wisdom,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,  you 
have  your  conversation  in  the  world."  You  may 
know,  and  ought  to  know,  whether  you  do  sincerely 
endeavour  to  discharge  every  duty  that  you  owe 
both  to  God  and  man;  whether  you  lament  your  de- 
fects, ask  divine  assistance,  and  put  forth  your  stre- 
nuous endeavours  to  correct  every  error,  to  amend 
whatever  you  do  amiss,  and  to  live  in  all  things  as 
becomes  the  disciples  of  Christ — ever  imperfect,  and 
yet  ever  pressing  forward  after  perfection,  as  an  ob- 
ject of  earnest  desire,  and  of  gradual  approximation. 
Thus  doing,  you  will  have  evidence  that  the  word  of 
God  "dwells  in  you  richly,  in  all  wisdom  and  spirit- 
ual understanding,"  and  that  it  will  eventually  and 
surely  be  made  effectual  to  your  eternal  salvation. 


SHORTER      CATECIIISH 


355 


LECTURE  LXVI. 


"The  sacraments,"  says  our  Catechism,  "become 
effectual  means  of  salvation,  not  from  any  virtue  in 
them,  or  in  him  that  doth  administer  them;  but  only 
by  the  blessing  of  Christ,  and  the  working  of  his  Spirit 
in  them  that  by  faith  receive  them." 

The  chief  design  of  this  answer  is  to  guard  against 
erroneous  apprehensions  relative  to  the  sacraments; 
especially  those  which  are  entertained  and  taught  in 
the  Romish  communion.  That  corrupt  church  main- 
tains two  gross  errors,  in  regard  to  these  sacred  ordi- 
nances. The  first  is,  that  the  sacraments  have  an  in- 
herent efficacy  in  themselves,  to  convey  saving  grace 
to  those  who  partake  of  them;  so  that  they  who  re- 
ceive the  external  elements  are,  by  the  very  act  of 
reception,  placed  in  a  state  of  salvation.  This  is  a 
dogma  not  only  without  any  support  from  Scripture, 
but  one  which  facts,  contained  in  the  sacred  records, 
directly  contradict.  We  find  that  after  Simon,  the 
sorcerer,  was  baptized,  an  inspired  apostle  declared, 
"that  his  heart  was  not  right  in  the  sight  of  God;" 
that  he  had  "neither  part  nor  lot"  in  the  saving  bene- 
fits of  the  gospel;  but  was  still  "in  the  gall  of  bitter- 
ness, and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity."  And  in  regard  to 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  we  know  that  in 
the  primitive  Corinthian  church,  a  number  of  those 
who  had  partaken  of  the  symbols  of  the  broken  body 
and  shed  blood  of  the  Redeemer,  so  far  from  being 
placed  in  a  state  of  salvation  by  the  act,  had  most 
grievously  sinned  in  that  very  act;  and  were  visited 
in  consequence  with  temporal  judgments  to  bring 
them  to  repentance;  "that  being  chastened  of  the 
Lord,  they  might  not  be  condemned  with  the  world." 
In  addition  to  this  palpable  evidence  from  the  volume 
of  inspiration,  our  own  observation  testifies,  that  there 


356 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


is  a  melancholy  number  of  the  recipients,  not  only  of 
the  sacrament  of  baptism,  but  alas!  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  also,  whose  lives  afford  no  indication  that  they 
are,  or  ever  were,  in  a  state  of  salvation;  and  the  test 
of  our  Saviour  himself  is,  "  by  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them." 

But  as  our  Catechism  teaclies,  that  the  sacraments 
are  not  efficacious  to  salvation  from  any  virtue  inhe- 
rent in  them;  so  it  also  affirms,  that  their  benefit  is 
not  derived  "from  him  that  doth  administer  them;" 
and  thus  the  second  error  of  the  Roman  church,  to 
which  I  have  referred,  is  combatted.  The  Papists 
maintain,  that  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments  depends 
on  the  will  of  the  priest  who  dispenses  them;  and  is 
communicated  or  withheld,  just  as  he  intends  or  pur- 
poses, at  the  time  of  the  administration — They  have 
efficacy  if  he  wills  it ;  they  have  no  efficacy  if  he  does 
not  will  it.  This  is  truly  a  shocking  absurdity.  It 
supposes  that  the  eternal  welfare  of  the  soul  of  one 
individual,  may  be  effected  by  a  single  mental  act  of 
another  individual — the  latter  a  sinful  and  capricious 
being,  as  well  as  the  former.  It  goes  on  the  supposi- 
tion, too,  that  there  may  be  a  mock  exhibition  of  the 
most  sacred  rites  of  the  Christian  church — an  exhibi- 
tion of  them  in  which  the  administrator  intends  they 
shall  be  useless,  and  actually  renders  them  so  by  his 
voluntary  choice.  But  beside  all  this,  if  the  prepos- 
terous dogma  in  question  were  true,  no  mortal  who 
receives  the  sacraments  could  possibly  know,  with 
entire  certainty,  whether  he  would  be  benefitted  by 
them  or  not;  for  we  can  never  be  perfectly  ascer- 
tained of  any  one's  intentions  except  our  own.  To 
search  the  heart  is  the  prerogative  of  God  only;  and 
whatever  assurances  an  administering  priest  might 
give,  they  might  still  be  deceptive;  and  he  who  holds 
that  he  might  administer  the  sacraments  deceptively, 
does  much  to  invalidate  any  declarations  he  may 
make  that,  in  any  particular  instance,  he  has  admin- 
istered them  truly;  that  is,  with  an  intention  that  they 
should  benefit  the  recipient. 

The  Popish  doctrine  of  transubstantiatiorif  is  also 


SHORTKR     CATECHISM.  357 

gainsayed  and  condemned  in  the  answer  we  consider, 
when  it  is  said  that  the  sacramental  elements  have  no 
inherent  "  virtue  in  them."     The  Romanists  hold  that 
after  the  consecrating  prayer  of  the  priest,  the  bread 
and  wine  in  the  Lord's  Supper  are  changed  in  their 
substance,  and  become  the  real  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  which  accordingly  are  eaten  and  drank  by 
every  communicant.     They  pretend  to  ground  this 
most  extraordinary  dogma  on  the  words  of  the  insti- 
tution— "Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body  which  is  broken 
for  you — this  is  my  blood  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  is  shed  for  many;  drink  ye  all  of  it."     The 
Papists  contend  that  this  language  is  to  be  taken  lite- 
rally, and  that  consequently  the  sacramental  elements 
of  the  Eucharist,  as  often  as  it  is  administered,  be- 
come the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ.     Protestants 
maintain  that  the  language  is  metaphorical,  and  that 
the  elements  after  consecration,  or  being  set  apart  to 
a  sacred  use,  still  retain  all  their  natural  properties  of 
bread  and  wine,  and  nothing  more.     Volumes  have 
been   written   on    this   controversy;    but   the   whole 
merits  of  it  lie  within  a  very  narrow  compass,  being 
nothing  more  than  the  proper  answer  to  the  question, 
ought  the  words  of  the  institution  to  be  taken  literally 
or  figuratively  ?  We  say,  they  ought  to  be  taken  figu- 
ratively, because — 1.  On  the  contrary  supposition,  the 
primitive  disciples  of  Christ,  to  whom  he  himself  ad- 
ministered this  ordinance,  ate  his  body  and  drank  his 
I  blood,  while  he  was  yet  alive.     2.  Not  only,  on  the 
I  Popish  supposition,  is  there  an  incessant  repetition  of 
I  the  same  miracle,  but  it  is  such  a  miracle  as  has  no 
I  parallel  in  the  whole  bible.     In  all  other  miracles,  the 
i  evidence  of  their  truth  and  reality,  is  the  testimony  of 
(the  senses,  of  those  who  witnessed  them.    But  here  is 
I  a  miracle,  in  which  all  the  senses  of  the  witnesses  di- 
I  rectly  contradict  what  they  are  required  to  believe. 
I  The  very  test  of  miracles  is  thus  destroyed.     3.  There 
is  no  need  of  understanding  the  words  literally.     Fi- 
gurative expressions,  as  strong  as  the  language  here, 
are  frequent  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.     God  is  called  a 
Rock;  and  in  the  very  discourse  that  precedes  the 


358 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


sacred  supper,  Christ  had  said,  "I  am  the  vine;  ye 
are  the  branches."  And  elsewhere  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, he  is  called  a  foundation,  a  head,  a  body,  a 
corner  stone,  a  rock,  and  other  appellations  in  the 
highest  degree  figurative;  but  the  import  of  which  is 
obvious  and  uncontroverted.  4.  In  the  particular  and 
connected  statement  of  the  institution  given  by  the 
apostle  Paul,  1  Cor.  23 — 29,  and  which  he  declares 
he  received  by  a  special  revelation  from  Christ  him- 
self, it  is  remarkable  that  after  the  consecration,  which 
is  recorded  in  the  24th,  25th,  and  26th  verses,  one  of 
the  elements  is  still  expressly  and  repeatedly  called 
bread,  and  the  cup  is  mentioned  without  the  least 
intimation  of  a  change  in  the  nature  of  its  contents. 

I  shall  close  these  remarks  on  the  Popish  absurdi- 
ties relative  to  the  sacrament  of  the  supper,  with  re- 
marking, that  although,  in  regard  to  the  wine  in  this 
sacrament,  an  express  command  is  given,  "  drink  ye 
all  of  it;"  yet  the  Romish  priesthood  allow  none  but 
themselves  to  drink  of  it.  They  refuse  it  entirely  to 
the  laity;  to  whom,  in  fact,  they  never  administer 
more  than  half  of  this  sacrament. 

After  stating,  negatively,  on  what  the  efficacy  of 
the  sacraments  does  not  depend,  the  answer  before 
us  affirms,  that  they  become  effectual  means  of  salva- 
tion "  only  by  the  blessing  of  Christ,  and  the  working 
of  his  Spirit,  in  them  that  by  faith  receive  them."  But 
to  enlarge  on  this  part  of  the  answer,  would  only  be 
to  anticipate  what  is  more  fully  set  forth  in  the  fol- 
lowing answers,  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  con- 
sider in  their  proper  place  and  order.  I  shall  here, 
therefore,  only  add  the  following  excellent  remarks 
of  Fisher.  He  says,  "  We  may  learn  from  the  neces- 
sity of  Christ's  blessing,  and  of  the  Spirit's  working, 
in  order  to  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments,  that  our 
whole  dependence  for  the  blessing,  whether  upon 
ourselves,  when  we  partake  af  the  sacrament  of  the 
supper,  or  upon  our  children,  when  we  are  sponsors 
for  them  in  baptism,  should  be  on  Christ  alone,  and 
on  the  saving  influences  and  operations  of  his  Spirit, 
held  forth  in  the  promise,  to  accompany  his  own  in- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  359 

stitutions:  and  therefore  our  partaking  of  these  so- 
lemn ordinances,  dispensed  by  some  ministers,  to  the 
slighting  of  them  as  dispensed  by  others,  equally 
sound  and  faithful,  though  perhaps  in  our  esteem 
somewhat  inferior  in  outward  gifts,  says  upon  the 
matter,  that  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments  depends, 
some  how  upon  the  administrator,  and  not  on  the 
blessing  of  Christ  alone,  quite  contrary  to  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  1  Cor.  iii.  7,  'So  then,  neither  is 
he  that  planleth  any  thitjg,  neither  he  that  vvatereth, 
but  God  that  giveth  the  increase.' " 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  next  answer  in  our 
Catechism,  in  which  we  have  a  definition  of  a  sacra- 
ment as  follows: — "A  sacrament  is  a  holy  ordinance 
instituted  by  Christ,  wherein  by  sensible  signs,  Christ, 
and  the  benefits  of  the  new  covenant,  are  represent- 
ed, sealed  and  applied  to  believers.'' 

The  tree  of  life,  and  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil,  in  the  Paradise  of  Eden,  have  usually 
been  considered  as  sacraments  of  the  covenant  of 
works.  The  definition  before  us  was  not  intended 
to  include  these.  It  is  confined  to  the  sacraments  of 
the  new  covenant,  or  the  covenant  of  grace;  so  called 
because  it  succeeded  to  the  covenant  of  works,  which 
was  broken  by  our  first  parents  when  they  lost  their 
innocence,  by  eating  of  the  fruit  of  the  forbidden  tree. 

The  word  sacrcwient,  is  derived  from  the  Latin 
word  sacramentum,  used  by  the  Romans  to  express 
the  oath  whi<;h  their  soldiers  took  to  be  true  and  faith- 
ful to  their  prince  or  commander,  pledging  them  so- 
lemnly not  to  desert  his  standard.  It  is  used  in  the 
Christian  church,  not  only  to  signify  something  that 
is  sacred,  but  likewise  a  solemn  engagement  to  be  the 
Lord's.  It  is  called  a  holy  ordinance  in  the  answer 
before  us,  because  the  elements  which  compose  it 
have  been  set  apart  from  a  conniion  to  a  sacred  use, 
because  it  is  designed  to  promote  holiness  in  those 
who  receive  it,  and  because  they  are,  by  profession, 
a  holy  or  peculiar  people. 

As  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  church,,  and  has  the 
sole  power  and  authority  to  enact  laws  and  appoint 


360  LECTURES     ON    THE 

ordinances  for  the  government  and  benefit  of  his 
people,  it  is  essentially  necessary  to  the  validity  of  a 
sacrament,  that  it  be  instituted  by  his  express  com- 
mand. Hence  we  find  the  apostle  Paul,  when  re- 
proving the  Corinthian  church  for  the  abuse  of  the 
sacramental  supper,  is  explicit  on  this  point.  Refer- 
ring to  the  introduction  of  this  sacred  rite  among  them 
by  himself,  he  says — "  I  have  received  of  the  Lord, 
that  which  also  I  delivered  unto  you." 

In  our  Larger  Catechism  we  are  taught,  that  "there 
are  two  parts  of  a  sacrament;  the  one  an  outward 
and  sensible  sign,  used  according  to  Christ's  appoint- 
ment; the  other  an  inward  and  spiritual  grace  there- 
by signified."  The  outward  and  sensible  signs — so 
called  because  they  are  perceptible  by  our  outward 
sense  of  seeing,  tasting,  and  feeling — have  no  natu- 
ral resemblance  to  the  things  which  they  symbolize. 
They  owe  their  significance  entirely  to  the  divine  in- 
stitution; yet  the  divine  wisdom  is  manifest  in  the 
appointment  of  the  sensible  emblems,  since  between 
them  and  the  spiritual  benefits  signified,  tliere  is  a 
beautiful  analogy,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  more 
fully  to  show  in  a  subsequent  lecture. 

"  Christ  and  the  benefits  of  the  new  covenant," 
constitute  "the  inward  and  spiritual  grace"  conveyed 
to  believers  in  the  sacraments;  for  to  believers,  and 
to  them  only,  as  the  answer  before  us  states,  the 
benefits  of  the  new  covenant  "  are  represented,  seal- 
ed, and  applied."  None  but  a  true  believer,  one  who 
possesses  and  exercises  genuine  faith  in  Christ,  can 
have  those  spiritual  views  of  him,  and  that  perception 
of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  union  and  commu- 
nion with  him,  which  these  holy  ordinances  are  cal- 
culated, and  were  intended,  to  exhibit  to  the  eye  of 
faith.  But  by  every  such  believer,  when  faith  is  in 
exercise,  Christ  and  his  benefits — summed  up  in  grace 
here  and  glory  hereafter — are  discerned  in  a  most 
lively,  glorious,  and  delightful  manner,  in  the  sacra- 
mental signs.  Nor  are  they  merely  seen  and  admir- 
ed, they  are  also  sealed  and  applied.  They  are  sealed, 
because,  as  a  seal  ratifies  and  confirms  a  contract  or 


SHORTER     CATECHIS3I,  361 

legal  instrument,  so  it  is  one  of  the  uses  of  the  sacra- 
mental signs,  solemnly  and  formally  to  ratit''y  and  seal 
to  believers,  on  the  part  of  Christ,  all  the  benefits  of 
the  new  covenant,  procured  for  them  by  his  precious 
blood.  These  benefits  are  also  actually  applied  to 
believers,  in  the  use  of  the  sacraments;  that  is,  there 
is  a  present  experience  and  enjoyment  of  these  bene- 
fits. Probably  there  are  few  of  the  people  of  God 
who  would  not  be  ready  to  testify,  that  some  of  their 
sacramental  seasons  have  been  those  in  which  their 
graces  were  in  the  most  delightful  exercise,  their 
communion  with  Christ  and  his  people  the  most  sen- 
sible, and  their  assured  hope  and  expectation  of  the 
heavenly  inheritance  the  most  lively,  strong  and 
satisfying. 


VOL.  II. — 24 


3(32 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


LECTURE  LXVIl. 


We  are  now  more  particularly  to  consider  the  sacra- 
ments of  the  New  Testament,  which  are  stated  in  our 
Catechism  to  be,  "Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper." 

When  the  sacraments  of  the  New  Testament  are 
specially  mentioned,  there  is  an  implication  that  there 
were  also  sacraments  under  the  Old  Testament. 
Such  is  the  fact,  and  it  is  a  fact  of  importance  to  be 
noticed;  because  we  believe  that  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation was  engrafted  on  the  Mosaic;  both  dispen- 
sations being  equally  given  under  the  covenant  of 
grace,  and  the  latter  being  only  the  completion  or 
perfecting  of  the  former. 

It  appears  from  several  passages  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, that  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the 
Christian  church,  have  succeeded  to  Circumcision 
and  the  Passover  in  the  Jewish.  If  you  will  read  at- 
tentively the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, and  the  third  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ga- 
latians,  you  will  see  tliat  the  blessings  of  the  covenant 
which  God  made  with  Abraham,  and  of  which  cir- 
cumcision was  to  him  the  seal,  were  not  intended  to 
be  confined  to  the  Jews,  his  natural  descendants,  but 
to  be  extended  to  the  Gentiles  also;  he  being  by  the 
divine  appointment  the  father  of  the  faithful  to  the 
latter,  as  really  as  to  the  former.  It  will  also  appear 
from  the  four  last  verses  of  Galatians  iii.,  that  Chris- 
tians are  "  baptized  into  Christ,"  as  /AeiV  seal  of  the 
gracious  covenant,  just  as  circumcision  was  that  seal 
to  Abraham  and  his  seed. 

That  the  Lord's  Supper  is  the  Christian  Passover, 
is  not  less  evident.  It  was  in  the  close  of  the  Jewish 
Passover  supper,  that  our  Redeemer  instituted  the 
sacramental  supper  of  his  own  death  ;  thus  engrafting 
the  new  dispensation  on  the  old,  and  in  place  of  the 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  363 

type  exhibiting  the  antitype,  the  substance  instead  of 
the  shadow;  and  for  the  paschal  lamb,  directing  the 
view  of  his  disciples  to  the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world — the  Lamb,  without  blem- 
ish and  without  spot,  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  Hence  the  apostle,  Cor  iv.  7,  says,  "  Christ 
our  Passover  is  sacrificed  for  us." 

In  the  17th  chapter  of  Genesis,  we  have  a  full  and 
distinct  account  of  the  institution  of  the  rite  of  circum- 
cision, which  you  ought  to  read  with  attention  and 
care.  Speaking  of  the  spiritual  meaning  of  this  sacra- 
mental ceremony,  Fisher  says  justly,  "  It  signified  the 
impurity  and  corruption  of  nature,  the  necessity  of 
regeneration,  or  being  cut  off  from  the  first  Adam  as 
a  federal  head,  and  of  being  implanted  in  Christ,  in 
order  to  partake  of  the  benefits  of  his  mediation,  to- 
gether with  a  solemn  virtual  engagement  to  be  the 
Lord's." 

In  the  12th  chapter  of  Exodus,  we  have  a  very 
particular  and  interesting  account  of  the  institution  of 
the  Jewish  Passover.  You  are  aware  that  it  derived 
its  name  from  the  fact,  that  the  destroying  angel,  who 
smote  to  death  all  the  first  born,  both  of  man  and 
beast  among  the  Egyptians,  passed  over  every  house 
of  the  Israelites,  whose  door  posts  and  lintels  were 
sprinkled,  according  to  the  divine  direction,  with  the 
blood  of  the  paschal  lamb.  Every  part  of  this  re- 
markable institution  was  typical,  and  strikingly  sig- 
nificative of  the  redemption  of  Christ,  and  the  bene- 
fits of  his  most  precious  blood-shedding.  The  very 
name  of  the  institution  imported  much — imported  that 
the  sword  of  divine  justice  will  pass  over,  and  never 
slay  the  soul,  which  is  sprinkled  with  the  atoning 
blood  of  the  Saviour.  The  passover  lamb  was  to  be 
without  blemish,  to  denote  that  although  our  sins 
were  imputed  to  Christ,  yet  he  was  in  himself  "a 
Lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot — holy,  harm- 
less, undefiled,  and  separate  from  sinners."  The  pas- 
chal lamb  was  to  die  in  no  other  way  than  by  shed- 
ding its  blood;  to  intimate  that  without  the  shedding 
of  the  blood  of  our  Redeemer,  there  could  be  no  re- 


364  LECTURES     ON    THE 

mission  of  sin;  that  in  no  other  way  could  divine 
justice  be  satisfied,  and  the  sinner  be  reconciled  to  his 
God.  The  latnb  of  the  passover  was  to  be  prepared 
for  being  eaten,  exclusively,  by  being  roasted  with 
fire;  intimating  that  the  Redeemer,  when  he  stood  as 
the  Surety  of  sinners,  was  to  endure  the  most  exqui- 
site and  extreme  sufferings,  and  to  be  made,  in  body 
and  soul,  a  burnt  sacrifice,  as  it  were,  for  the  sins  of 
those  in  whose  room  and  stead  his  awful  agonies 
were  endured.  "  It  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him — 
God  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up 
for  us  all."  The  lamb  of  the  passover  was  to  be 
eaten  entii^e — no  part  of  it  was  to  remain  uncon- 
sumed.  Did  not  this  signify  that  faith  must  receive 
(I  ivhole  Christ — in  all  his  offices,  and  for  all  the  pur- 
poses for  which  he  became  a  Saviour? — That  he  must 
be  made  of  God  unto  all  his  people  "  wisdom,  and 
righteousness,  and  sanctification,  and  redemption." 
"The  whole  assembly  of  the  congregation  of  Israel" 
were  required  to  prepare  and  partake  of  the  passover 
supper,  al  the  same  tiine;  to  denote,  we  may  rea- 
sonably believe,  that  there  is  enough  in  Christ  to 
satisfy  the  spiritual  necessities  of  all  his  people,  be  the 
number  ever  so  great.  "  In  him  dwelleth  all  the  ful- 
ness of  the  Godhead  bodily." 

"The  solenui  eating  of  the  lamb  was  typical  of 
our  gospel-duty  to  Christ.  The  paschal  lamb  was 
killed,  not  to  be  looked  upon  only,  but  to  be  fed  upon; 
so  we  must  by  faith  make  Christ  ours,  as  we  do  that 
which  we  eat;  and  we  must  receive  spiritual  strength 
and  noiu'ishnient  from  him,  as  from  our  food;  and 
have  delight  and  satisfaction  in  him,  as  we  have  in 
eating  and  drinking,  when  we  are  hungry  and  thirsty. 

It  was  to  be  eaten  immediately,  not 

deferred  till  morning.  To-day  Christ  is  oftered,  and 
is  to  be  accepted  while  it  is  called  to-day,  before  we 
sleep  the  sleep  of  death.  It  was  to  be  eaten  tvith 
bitter  herbs,  in  remembrance  of  the  bitterness  of  the 
bondage  in  Egypt.  We  must  feed  upon  Christ  with 
sorrow  and  brokenness  of  heart,  in  remembrance  of 
sin;  this  will  give  an  additional  relish  to  the  paschal 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  365 

Iamb;  Christ  will  be  sweet  to  us  if  sin  be  bitter.  It 
was  to  be  eaten  in  a  departing  posture.  When  we 
feed  upon  Christ  by  faith,  we  must  absolutely  forsake 
the  rule  and  dominion  of  sin,  shake  off  Pharaoh's  yoke ; 
and  we  must  sit  loose  to  the  world  and  every  thing 
in  it;  forsake  all  for  Christ,  and  reckon  it  no  bad  bar- 
gain."* 

As  it  is  of  no  inconsiderable  importance  to  know 
the  typical  import  of  the  ancient  rites  of  Circumcision 
and  the  Passover,  not  only  that  their  true  nature  may 
be  understood,  but  as  illustrative  of  the  spiritual  de- 
sign of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  which  have 
come  in  their  place,  I  thought  it  proper  to  give  the 
somewhat  extended  explanation,  to  which  your  at- 
tention has  just  been  called.  I  only  add,  that  al- 
though "the  sacraments  of  the  Old  Testament,  in 
regard  of  the  spiritual  things  thereby  signified  and 
exhibited,  were  for  substance  the  same  with  those  of 
the  New;"t  yet  as  the  former  looked  forward  to  a 
Saviour  who  was  yet  to  come,  and  the  latter  regard 
him  as  having  come,  and  made  known,  fully  and  dis- 
tinctly, the  nature  and  design  of  his  mediatorial  un- 
dertaking, they  make  the  spiritual  things  which  they 
represent,  far  more  plain  and  impressive  to  believers 
under  the  gospel,  than  they  were  to  those  who  lived 
under  the  legal  and  typical  dispensation  which  pre- 
ceded them. 

In  concluding  my  remarks  on  the  answer  now  be- 
fore us,  it  may  be  proper  just  to  mention,  that  the 
Papists,  among  the  other  unauthorized  supplements 
which  they  have  impiously  made  to  the  word  of  God, 
have  added  five  sacraments  to  those  which  that  word 
prescribes  and  sanctions;  namely,  confirmation, pen- 
ance, ordination,  marriage,  and  extreme  unction — 
for  none  of  which  can  even  a  plausible  plea  be  made 
out,  from  any  passage  of  sacred  Scripture. 

We  now  proceed  to  the  next  answer  of  our  Cate- 
chism, in  which  Baj)tism  is  thus  defined. 

"Baptism  is   a   sacrament,  wherein   the  washing 

*  Henry.  t  Confession  of  Faith. 


366  LECTURES    ON    THE 

with  water  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  doth  signify  and  seal  our 
engrafting  into  Christ,  and  partaking  of  the  benefits 
of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  our  engagement  to  be 
the  Lord's." 

Baptism  is  a  word  of  Greek  derivation,*  and  the 
verb  from  which  the  noun  is  derived  properly  denotes, 
in  its  use  as  applied  to  this  ordinance,  to  wash.  That 
such  is  its  true  signification,  and  that  it  is  applicable 
to  every  species  of  washing,  whether  by  sprinkling, 
affusion,  or  dipping;  and  whether  a  part  only  or  the 
whole  of  a  substance  is  to  be  washed  or  cleansed,  has 
been  clearly,  and  I  think  most  conclusively  shown,  by 
the  learned  Dr.  John  Owen,  in  his  short  treatise  on 
the  subject  of  Baptism.  On  this  point,  however,  as 
well  as  on  the  question  whether  infants  are  the  pro- 
per subjects  of  baptism,  volumes  of  controversy  have 
been  written;  and  the  controversy  is  apparently  as 
far  from  being  settled  now,  as  at  any  former  period. 
The  mode  of  baptism,  however,  is,  I  think,  allowed 
on  all  hands  to  be  less  important,  than  the  point  which 
relates  to  the  proper  subjects  of  this  ordinance.  In 
considering  the  next  answer  in  the  Catechism,  I  shall 
be  called  to  discuss  briefly,  the  subject  of  infant  bap- 
tism; but  in  regard  to  the  manner  of  administering 
this  ordinance,  I  shall  add  but  little  to  the  remark  al- 
ready made.  It  is  admitted  that  baptism  by  dipping, 
or  by  immersion,  is  lawful  and  valid.  Yet  as  it  is 
never  necessary,t  and  in  this  climate  is  sometimes 
improper,  if  not  impracticable,  and  in  my  apprehen- 
sion is  never  expedient,  I  have  for  myself,  always 
declined  administering  it  in  this  form;  yet  I  would 
not  censure  those  of  my  brethren  who,  to  satisfy  the 
scruples  of  certain  individuals,  have  adopted  a  diff"er- 
ent  course.  Although  there  is  reason  to  believe  from 
some  passages  of  Scripture, that  in  the  landof  Judea, 

*  BawT/cfaj — Bas-T/a-jUOC. 

t  "  Dipping  of  the  person  into  the  water  is  not  necessary  ;  but  bap- 
tism is  rightly  administered  by  pouring,  or  sprinkling  water,  upon  the 
person." — Confes.  Faith,  chap.  28,  sec.  3d. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  367 

where  ablutions  were  frequent,  grateful,  and  healthy, 
the  baptism  of  John,  and  of  the  apostles  of  Christ,  was 
sometimes  administered  by  dipping,  yet  there  is  nei- 
ther precept  nor  any  clear  example,  for  the  immersion 
of  the  whole  body  in  water,  when  an  individual  is 
baptized.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  numerous 
examples  of  baptism,  recorded  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  have  taken  place,  in  such  circumstances  that 
neither  dipping  nor  immersion  was  at  all  probable,  if 
in  some  it  was  even  practicable.  It  would  not  be 
difficult  to  show,  that  the  three  thousand  who  were 
baptized  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  whose  conver- 
sion and  preparation  for  that  ordinance  could  scarcely 
have  taken  place  before  mid-day,  or  even  a  later  hour, 
could  not,  in  the  remainder  of  that  day,  have  been  im- 
mersed, although  the  whole  twelve  apostles  had  been 
constantly  employed  in  the  service;  that  is,  on  the 
supposition  that  the  parties  were  taken  individually, 
and  the  words  of  the  institution  were  repeated  in  each 
instance  separately,  as  we  ought  to  believe  was  the 
fact.  In  like  manner,  it  is  highly  improbable  that  the 
jailer  of  Philippi  and  his  household,  who  were  bap- 
tized in  the  night,  had  either  the  means  of  immersion 
at  hand,  or  went  abroad  for  the  purpose.  The  bap- 
tism of  the  centurion  Cornelius,  and  of  the  apostle 
Paul  himself,  as  well  as  of  the  households  that  we 
are  informed  were  admitted  to  this  ordinance,  was 
far  more  probably  performed  by  sprinkling  or  affu- 
sion, than  by  dipping  or  immersion.  In  a  word,  we 
have  no  scriptural  precept  in  regard  to  the  mode  of 
administering  baptism,  except  that  it  is  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  application  of  water,  in  the  name  of 
the  Three  one  God;  and  the  recorded  examples  of  its 
administration  were  attended  by  circumstances  which 
render  it  in  a  very  high  degree  probable,  that  the  or- 
dinance was  much  more  frequently  administered  by 
sprinkling  or  affusion,  than  in  any  other  way. 


368  LECTURES     ON     THE 


LECTURE  LXVIII. 


"  Baptism,  according  to  our  Catechism,  is  a  sacra- 
ment wherein  the  wasiiinj?  with  water  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
doth  signify  and  seal  our  engrafting  into  Christ,  and 
partaking  of  the  benefits  of  the  covenant  of  grace, 
and  our  engagement  to  be  the  Lord's." 

In  appointing  baptism  to  be  the  introductory  ordi- 
nance of  the  visible  Christian  church,  our  Lord  wise- 
ly adopted  a  rite,  with  the  formal  part  of  which  the 
primitive  Jewish  believers  were  already  familiar. 
The  Mosaic  dispensation  itself  abounded  in  ceremo- 
nial purifications,  by  the  application  of  water;  to 
which,  indeed,  unauthorized  tradition  had  made  bur- 
densome additions,  which  our  Saviour  disregarded 
and  condemned.  It  appears,  moreover,  that  when 
gentile  proselytes  were  received  into  the  Jewish 
church,  they  were  not  only  circumcised,  but  washed 
or  baptized  with  water — the  former  by  divine  direc- 
tion, the  latter  without  it;  yet,  as  strikingly  significa- 
tive of  their  being  cleansed  from  their  former  idola- 
trous pollutions.  The  forerunner  of  our  blessed  Lord 
was  called  the  Baptist,  or  Baptizer,*  because  it  was  a 
part  of  his  commission  to  administer  the  baptism  of 
repentance  for  sin,  to  those  who  received  his  doctrine 
and  professed  to  be  waiting  for  the  appearance  of  the 
Messiah. 

When  our  Lord  therefore,  after  his  resurrection 
and  immediately  before  his  ascension  into  heaven, 
commissioned  his  apostles,  and  through  them  the 
ministers  of  the  gospel  -Mo  the  end  of  the  world,"  to 
administer  baptism  to  believers  of ''all  nations" — 
for  till  now  it  had  been  confined  to  the  Jews — he 
needed  only  to  declare  the  nature  and  design  of  the 

*  BATrria-mc — "  A  title  from  John's  office,  not  a  proper  name." — 
Campbell, 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  369 

institution,  since  the  mode  of  its  administration  was 
already  full  known. 

Theologians  have  been  divided,  as  to  the  proper 
answer  to  the  inquiry,  whether  John's  baptism  was 
the  same  as  Christian  baptism;  that  is,  the  same  as 
that  which  our  Lord  commanded  his  disciples  to  ad- 
minister, after  his  resurrection.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  we 
have  this  record: 

"  1  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  while  Apollos  was 
at  Corinth,  Paul  having  passed  through  the  upper 
coasts,  came  to  Ephesus;  and  finding  certain  disci- 
ples, 

"2  He  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  received  the  Holy 
Ghost  since  ye  believed  ?  And  they  said  unto  him, 
We  have  not  so  much  as  heard  whether  there  be  any 
Holy  Ghost. 

"3  And  he  said  unto  them,  Unto  what  then  were 
ye  baptized?  And  they  said.  Unto  John's  baptism. 

"  4  Then  said  Paul,  John  verily  baptized  with  the 
baptism  of  repentance,  saying  unto  the  people.  That 
they  should  believe  on  him  which  should  come  after 
him,  that  is,  on  Christ  Jesus. 

"5  When  they  heard  this,  they  were  baptized  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

"  6  And  when  Paul  had  laid  his  hands  upon  them, 
the  Holy  Ghost  came  on  them;  and  they  spake  with 
tongues,  and  prophesied." 

Those  who  maintain  that  John's  baptism  and  Chris- 
tian baptism  did  not  differ  in  any  thing  material,  in- 
sist that  the  fifth  verse  in  this  quotation,  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  affirming  that  those  who  had  received 
John's  baptism  did,  by  the  mere  hearing  and  believ- 
ing the  statement  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  become  "  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  This  I  confess 
has  always  appeared  to  me  a  forced  and  unnatural 
construction  of  a  plain  passage  of  sacred  Scripture.* 

*  In  the  criticism  on  the  original  of  the  sacred  text,  on  which  is 
founded  tlie  opinion  of  Beza,  L,  Infant,  and  other  learned  men,  who 
favour  the  construction  which  I  oppose,  much  reliance  is  placed  on 
the  correspondence,  which  they  affirm  is  always  observed,  between 


370  LECTURES     ON     THE 

I  must  also  say,  with  Dr.  Doddridge,  that  "  I  think  it 
evident  beyond  all  dispute,  that  the  baptism  of  John 
and  of  Christ,  were  in  their  own  nature  quite  differ- 
ent; and  that  it  is  plain,  in  fact,  that  when  persons 
were  converted  to  Christianity,  they  were  baptized 
of  course,  without  inquiring  whether  they  had,  or  had 
not,  received  the  baptism  of  John,  which  we  know 
vast  multitudes  did,  (Matt.  iii.  5,  6,)  who  probably 
afterwards  received  Christian  baptism.  Compare 
Acts  ii.  38 — 41;  iv.  4;  vi.  7."  The  comment  of 
Scott  on  the  5th  and  6th  verses  of  the  above  quota- 
tion, seems  to  me  so  candid,  judicious,  and  satisfac- 
tory, that  I  shall  close  what  I  have  to  offer  on  this 
point — one  which  is  important  though  not  essential — 
with  quoting  it  at  large. 

"  Several  learned  critics,  of  different  sentiments 
concerning  baptism,  have  argued  that  these  are  the 
words  (in  the  5th  verse)  of  Paul,  showing  the  disci- 
ples, that  when  John  baptized  those  who  heard  his 
doctrine,  he  virtually  baptized  them  in  the  name  of 
Jesus;  and  not  the  words  of  the  historian  relating  the 
baptism  of  these  persons,  subsequent  to  the  apos- 
tle's instruction  of  them.  Some  of  those  who  first 
contended  for  this  interpretation,  did  it  out  of  zeal 
against  such  as  they  called  Ke-baptizers,  lest  they 
should  adduce  this  example  in  support  of  their  prac- 
tice. But  by  maintaining  the  baptism  of  John  and 
the  baptism  of  Christ  to  be  entirely  the  same,  they 
have  furnished  their  opponents  with  a  far  more  plau- 
sible argument,  than  that  which  they  wanted  to  wrest 
from  them.  But,  however  that  may  be,  I  cannot 
think  that  any  impartial  man,  who  never  heard  of 
these  controversies,  would,  either  from  reading  the 
original,  or  our  translation,  put  this  construction  on 

the  Greek  particles,  ^sv,  in  tiie  4th  verse,  and  St  in  the  fifth  verse : 
this,  it  is  affirmed,  proves  satisfactorily,  that  these  two  verses  are  to 
be  considered  as  the  continued  language  of  Paul.  But  the  investiga- 
tions of  Griesback  have  led  him  to  reject  the  particle  /mv  altogether, 
and  to  expel  it  from  the  sacred  text,  as  plainly  a  spurious  addition. 
If  this  be  a  just  decision,  as  it  probably  is,  the  main  support  of  Beza's 
opinion  is  at  once  entirely  subverted.  Paul's  language  is  confined  to 
the  4th  verse  ;  in  the  fifth  the  historian  speaks. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  371 

the  words.  If  John  could  in  any  sense  be  said  to 
baptize  his  disciples  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
Jesus  himself  must  have  been  baptized  virtually  in 
his  own  name.  Even  St.  Paul's  question,  '  Unto 
what  then  were  ye  baptized?'  implies  a  distinction 
between  different  kinds  of  baptism;  and  shows  that 
he  concluded  that  they  had  not  received  Christian 
baptism,  having  never  heard  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in 
whose  name  Christians  were  baptized. — '  This  is  visi- 
ble even  in  the  words  of  St.  Paul  here,  John  said  to 
those  that  came  to  his  baptism  ha  7tiativsu,;iv,  not  that 
they  did,  but  that  they  should,  believe  in  him  that 
was  coming  after  him;  now  they  were  not  to  be  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  till  they  did  actu- 
ally believe  in  him,  which  they  who  had  received 
John's  baptism  were  so  far  from  doing,  that  they 
were  "musing  whether  John  himself  were  not  the 
Christ."  {Whitby.)  After  Christ's  ascension  no  in- 
quiry was  made,  that  we  read  of,  whether  the  con- 
verts had  been  baptized  by  John,  or  no:  and  if  but 
one  of  the  three  thousand,  who  were  baptized  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  had  been  John's  disciple,  (and  pro- 
bably numbers  were  such,)  the  baptism  of  John  and 
that  of  Jesus  must  have  been  distinct  ordinances. 
Tlie  difference  between  that  introductory  institution 
to  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  the  initiatory  exter- 
nal seal  of  that  dispensation,  has  been  already  con- 
sidered, {Notes,  Matt,  iii.)  Some  have  indeed  said, 
that  if  John's  baptism  and  Christ's  were  different,  our 
Lord  had  no  communion  with  the  New  Testament 
in  baptism,  as  he  had  with  the  Old  Testament  Church 
in  circumcision.  But  he  was  made  under  the  law  to 
fulfil  its  righteousness,  as  our  Surety;  and  must  there- 
fore, both  on  that  account  and  as  our  example,  obey 
every  command,  and  attend  on  every  institution  of 
God  then  in  force:  but  there  was  not  the  same  reason 
for  his  joining  in  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  which 
he  appointed  merely  as  our  Lord  and  King.  Doubt- 
less he  ate  the  passover  with  his  disciples,  yet  it  does 
not  appear  that  he  partook  of  the  eucharist :  {Luke 
xxii.  17 — 20:)  it  is  not  probable  that  he  didj  neither 


372  LECTURES    ON    THE 

can  it  be  supposed,  that  he  was  'baptized  into  the 
name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost/  which  seems  essential  to  Christian  baptism.  I 
apprehend  therefore  that  these  persons,  being  further 
instructed  by  Paul,  were  admitted  into  the  Church  by 
baptism;  previously  to  the  communication  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  them,  by  the  imposition  of  the  apos- 
tle's hands." 

Water,  the  element  employed  in  baptism,  is,  in  its 
nature,  emblematical  of  the  spiritual  objects  and  be- 
nefits referred  to  in  this  sacred  ordinance.  Water  is 
so  abundant,  that  the  freedom  of  its  nse,  by  all  who 
need  it,  is  proverbial;  and  its  cleansing  or  purifying 
qualities  are  confessedly  pre-eminent.  Thus,  the  great 
salvation  of  Christ  is  freely  offered  to  all  who  desire 
to  embrace  it;  and  in  its  application,  the  soul  is  puri- 
fied from  all  its  moral  defilement.  By  the  blood  of 
Christ,  the  soul  of  the  believer  is  cleansed  from  the 
guilt  of  sin,  and  by  the  powerful  influences  of  his 
Holy  Spirit,  the  stain  or  pollution  of  sin  is  gradually, 
and  at  length  entirely,  removed;  and  both  these  ines- 
timable spiritual  benefits  are  significantly  shadowed 
forth  by  the  washing  of  water  in  baptism. 

According  to  the  answer  of  the  Catechism  now 
under  consideration,  baptism  is  to  be  administered 
"  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost;"  and  as  this  is  in  accordance  with 
the  express  and  particular  command  of  Christ  himself, 
it  must  be  held  as  essential  to  the  validity  of  the  ordi- 
nance, that  these  very  words  of  the  original  institution 
be  used  in  every  instance  of  its  administration.  The 
Greek  preposition,  n^  (eis),  which,  in  the  common 
version  of  our  Bible  is,  in  this  place,  rendered  in, 
properly  denotes  into,  and  is  so  rendered  in  many 
other  passages  of  the  New  Testament,  Christians 
are  therefore  baptized  "  into  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost;"  and  I  have 
met  with  nothing,  more  satisfactory,  in  explanation 
of  the  important  and  solemn  import  of  this  sacred  for- 
mula of  Christian  baptism,  than  that  which  is  given 
by  Scott,  in  the  following  passage  of  his  commentary: 


f 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  373 

"  The  Apostles  and  preachers  of  the  gospel  were  or- 
dered to  baptize  those  who  embraced  the  gospel,  into 
the  name  (not  names)  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  is  a  niost  irrefragable 
proof  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity;  that  is,  of  the 
Deity  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  distinct  personality  and 
Deity  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  for  it  would  be  absurd  to 
suppose  that  a  mere  man  or  creature,  or  a  mere  modus, 
or  quahty  of  God,  should  be  joined  with  the  Father, 
in  the  one  name,  into  which  all  Christiaiis  are  bap- 
tized. To  be  baptized  into  the  name  of  any  one,  im- 
plies a  professed  dependence  on  him,  and  devoted 
subjection  to  him:  to  be  baptized,  therefore  into  the 
"  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  implies  a  professed  dependence  on  these  three 
divine  Persons,  jointly  and  equally,  and  a  devoting 
of  ourselves  to  them  as  worshippers  and  servants. 
This  is  proper  and  obvious,  upon  the  supposition  of 
the  mysterious  unity  of  three  coequal  persons  in  the 
unity  of  the  Godhead;  but  not  to  be  accounted  for  on 
any  other  principles.  Christianity  is  the  religion  of  a 
sinner,  who  relies  for  salvation  from  wrath  and  sin, 
on  the  mercy  of  the  Father,  through  the  person  and 
atonement  of  the  incarnate  Son,  and  by  the  sanctifi- 
cation  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  who,  in  consequence, 
gives  up  himself  to  be  the  worshipper  and  servant 
of  the  triune  Jehovah,  in  all  his  ordinances  and  com- 
mandments; that  according  to  the  ancient  and  excel- 
lent Doxology,  "  Glory  may  be  to  the  Father,  and  to 
the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost;  as  it  was  in  the  be- 
ginning, is  now,  and  ever  shall  be." 

The  answer  before  us  further  states,  that  baptism 
"  doth  signify  and  seal  our  engrafting  into  Christ,  and 
partaking  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  our  engage- 
ment to  be  the  Lord's." 

1.  It  signifies  and  seals  our  engrafting  into  Christ. 
It  has  been  justly  remarked,  that  baptism  does  not 
constitute  a  visible  subject,  but  only  recognizes  one 
already  existing;  it  does  not  introduce  an  individual 
into  the  covenant  of  grace,  but  it  signijies  that  he  is 
already  there.     It  seals  a  covenant  already  formed. 


374  LECTURES     ON     THE 

and  which,  indeed,  would  not  admit  of  a  seal,  if  it 
were  not  previously  made,  and  prepared  for  sealing. 
Abraham  had  "the  righteousness  of  faith,"  before  he 
was  circumcised;  Cornelius  "feared  God  and  was 
accepted  of  him,"  before  he  was  baptized;  and  every 
adult  candidate  for  baptism  ought  to  give  credible 
evidence  of  being  born  of  God,  before  he  is  admitted 
to  the  ordinance.  The  infant  seed  of  professing  Chris- 
tians, in  virtue  of  their  parents'  faith  and  standing, 
are  born  members  of  the  visible  church,  and  are  con- 
sidered as  partakers  of  those  benefits  of  the  covenant 
of  grace  which  belong  to  the  offspring  of  believers, 
before  they  are  baptized:  and  hence  it  appears,  that 
when  professing  Christians  have  not  had  a  proper 
opportunity  to  offer  their  children  in  baptism,  and 
they  die  without  it,  no  fear  or  regret  should  be  in- 
dulged by  their  parents.  Their  children  were  born 
within  the  covenant,  and  no  duty  has  been  neglected, 
if  a  fit  occasion  for  affixing  the  outward  seal  has  not 
occurred.  If  indeed  such  opportunity  has  been  en- 
joyed, and  yet  neglected,  then  the  guilt  of  the  parent 
is  unquestionable — guilt  which  it  still  may  be  hoped 
will  not  aflect  the  future  state  of  the  child,  but  which, 
if  not  repented  of,  will  surely  aflect  that  of  the  sinful 
parent.  It  clearly  follows,  also,  from  the  fact  that  a 
participation  of  the  grace  of  God  is  supposed  to  pre- 
cede baptism,  that  this  ordinance  cannot  be  essential 
to  salvation.  Many,  doubtless,  have  been  partakers 
of  the  saving  grace  of  God,  who  have  died  without 
baptism.  The  penitent  thief,  on  the  cross,  was,  we 
know,  an  example  of  this  kind.  Yet  when  this,  or 
any  other  plain  duty,  is  deliberately,  wilfully,  or  care- 
lessly neglected,  it  may  well  occasion  doubts  and 
fears  in  the  minds  of  the  neglecters,  that  they  are  not, 
and  never  have  been,  sharers  in  the  saving  grace  of 
God.  Another  remark  may  here  find  its  proper  place; 
namely,  that  as  among  men  there  are  certain  trans- 
actions which  can  be  rendered  valid  only  when  the 
evidence  of  them  is  sealed  by  the  proper  civil  officer, 
so  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  has  commis- 
sioned none  but  his  ministers  to  affix  the  baptismal 


; 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  375 

seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace,  and  has  commanded 
that  they  be  accounted  "  as  stewards  of  the  mysteries 
of  God;"  and  therefore  it  is  on  good  and  scriptural 
authority  that  our  Confession  of  Faith  teaches  [chap, 
xxvii,  sec.  4.]  "  that  neither  of  the  sacraments  may 
be  dispensed  by  any,  but  by  a  minister  of  the  word, 
lawfully  ordained."  And  as  there  is  no  command, 
and  no  adequate  example  for  the  repetition  of  baptism, 
our  Confession  of  Faith  also  declares,  in  the  chapter 
just  cited,  that  "  The  sacrament  of  baptism  is  but  once 
to  be  administered  to  any  person;"  and  that  ''by 
Christ's  own  appointment,  it  is  to  be  continued  in  his 
church  until  the  end  of  the  world." 

2.  Baptism  signifies  and  seals  a  "partaking  of  the 
benefits  of  the  covenant  of  grace."  This  follows  of 
course,  from  being  ingrafted  into  Christ,  as  members 
of  his  mystical  body,  and  the  head  of  that  gracious 
covenant  which  has  been  ratified  in  his  blood.  The 
Apostle  Paul,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Galatians  (Gal.  iii. 
27,)  says,  "  As  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized 
into  Christ,  have  pui  on  Christ."  Compare  this  with 
Romans  iii.  22,  where  the  same  Apostle  declares  that 
"  the  righteousness  of  God,  which  is  by  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ,  is  unto  all,  and  itpofi  all  them  that  believe," 
and  you  will  see  that  the  union  with  Christ  which 
baptism  signifies  and  seals  to  every  believer,  assures 
to  him  the  inestimable  benefit  of  being  clothed  upon 
with  the  Redeemer's  perfect  righteousness,  and  con- 
sequently of  justification  from  the  condemning  sen- 
tence of  the  law — with  the  favour  of  God,  and  all 
the  blessings  of  time  and  eternity  promised  in  the 
covenant  of  grace.  The  benefits  of  this  covenant  are 
justly  stated  in  our  Larger  Catechism  to  be,  "  remis- 
sion of  sins  by  the  blood  of  Christ;  regeneration  by 
his  Spirit,  adoption  and  resurrection  unto  life  ever- 
lasting." Our  Confession  of  Faith  also  very  properly 
reminds  us,  that  "The  efficacy  of  baptism  is  not  tied 
to  that  moment  of  time  in  whicii  it  is  administered; 
yet,  notwithstanding,  by  the  right  use  of  this  ordi- 
nance, the  grace  promised,  is  not  only  off"ered,  but 
really  exhibited  and  conferred,  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  to 


376  LECTURES     ON    THE 

such  (whether  of  age  or  infants,)  as  that  grace  belong- 
eth  unto,  according  to  the  counsel  of  God's  own  will, 
in  his  appointed  time." 

3.  A  solemn  "  engagement  to  be  the  Lord's"  is 
contracted,  by  all  who  receive  the  sacrament  of  bap- 
tism. It  may  be  considered  as  the  seal  of  God  set 
upon  every  recipient;  a  seal  of  the  covenant  volun- 
tarily assnmed  on  the  part  of  the  believer,  and  pledg- 
ing him  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  covenant  stipulations; 
binding  him  to  renounce  utterly,  and  oppose  for  ever, 
all  rivals  and  competitors  of  his  God  and  Saviour; 
and  engaging  him  to  be  the  Lord's,  in  all  that  he  has 
and  is — in  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  for  time  and  for 
eternity.  In  a  word,  as  our  Larger  Catechism  teaches, 
"the  parties  baptized  are  solemnly  admitted  into  the 
visible  church,  and  enter  into  an  open  engagement  to 
be  wholly  and  only  the  Lord's," 

It  would  be  a  lamentable  error,  my  young  friends, 
if  any  of  you  who  were  baptized  in  infancy,  should 
think,  or  say  in  yonr  hearts,  that  you  have  been  sub- 
jected to  a  grievous  hardship  by  your  pious  parents, 
when  in  this  ordinance  they  offered  you  up  to  God 
in  your  infancy,  and  had  you  sealed  as  his  property, 
and  engaged  for  you,  so  far  as  their  influence,  efforts 
and  example  could  avail,  that  you  should  do  and  be 
all  that  is  implied  in  the  baptismal  covenant,  as  now 
explained.  You  would  not  have  thought  it  a  hard- 
ship, if  your  parents  had,  by  acting  in  yonr  behalf  in 
your  non  age,  secured  to  you  the  eventual  possession 
of  a  large  and  valuable  worldly  estate,  on  condition 
of  your  doing  and  acting,  in  your  coming  years,  in  a 
manner  most  reasonable  in  itself,  and  most  worthy 
of  yourselves.  But  infinitely  more  and  better  than 
this,  did  they  do  for  you,  when  they  devoted  you  to 
God  in  infant  baptism,  and  placed  you  under  the 
bonds  of  his  gracious  covenant.  Nothing  can  be  so 
reasonable  in  itself,  and  so  worthy  of  your  rational 
and  immortal  nature,  as  that  you  should  renounce  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  cordially  embrace  the 
great  salvation  of  your  redeeming  God,  and  walk 
before  him  to  your  life's  end,  in  obedience  to  all  his 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  377 

commandments,  and  in  the  observance  of  all  his  ordi- 
nances and  institutions:  and  doing  this,  you  will  be 
the  sure  possessors  of  an  inheritance  infinitely  richer 
than  all  the  treasures  of  the  world — an  inheritance 
incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  in 
the  mansions  of  eternal  bliss.  Oh,  may  none  of  you 
be  guilty  of  the  sacrilege  of  alienating  yourselves — the 
property  of  God — from  his  service  to  that  of  his  ad- 
versary! May  you  all  esteem  it  your  privilege,  as 
well  as  your  duty,  to  be  consecrated  unreservedly  to 
the  Lord,  and  make  your  parents'  act  your  own,  by 
your  voluntary  choice  and  assumption;  and  thus  in- 
sure to  yourselves  all  the  blessings  and  benefits  of 
heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  his  own  Son,  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

I  close  this  extended  lecture  by  quoting  from  our 
larger  Catechism,  the  admirable  statement  it  contains 
of  the  improvement  that  ought  to  be  made  of  their 
baptism,  by  all  who  have  received  it.  "  The  needful, 
but  much  neglected  duty  of  improving  our  baptism, 
is  to  be  performed  by  us  all  our  life  long,  especially 
in  the  time  of  temptation,  and  when  we  are  present 
at  the  administration  of  it  to  others,  by  serious  and 
thankful  consideration  of  the  nature  of  it,  and  of  the 
ends  for  which  Christ  instituted  it,  the  privileges  and 
benefits  conferred  and  sealed  thereby,  and  our  solemn 
vow  made  therein;  by  being  humbled  for  our  sinful 
defilement,  our  falling  short  of,  and  walking  contrary 
to,  the  grace  of  baptism  and  our  engagements;  by 
growing  up  to  assurance  of  pardon  of  sin,  and  of  ail 
other  blessings  sealed  to  us  in  that  sacrament;  by 
drawing  strength  from  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Christ,  into  whom  we  are  baptized,  for  the  mortifying 
of  sin,  and  quickening  of  grace;  and  by  endeavouring 
to  live  by  faith,  to  have  our  conversation  in  holiness 
and  righteousness,  as  those  that  have  therein  given 
up  their  names  to  Christ,  and  to  walk  in  brotherly 
love,  as  being  baptized  by  the  same  spirit  into  one 
body." 

VOL.  II. — 25 


378 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


LECTURE  LXIX. 


In  the  lecture  on  which  we  now  enter,  we  are  to 
consider  who  are  the  proper  subjects  of  baptism.  Our 
Catechism  teaches  us,  that  <'  Baptism  is  not  to  be  ad- 
ministered to  any  that  are  out  of  the  visible  church, 
till  they  profess  their  faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to 
him;  but  the  infants  of  such  as  are  members  of  the 
visible  church,  are  to  be  baptized." 

In  order  to  a  right  understanding  of  this  article  of 
our  creed,  you  must  observe  that  it  consists  of  two 
distinct  parts;  the  first  part  referring  exclusively  to 
persons  of  adult  age,  and  the  second  part  to  infant 
children. 

1.  In  regard  to  those  whose  faculties  or  powers  are 
so  far  matured  that  they  are  able  to  comprehend  the 
truths  of  the  gospel,  and  who  have  not  been  baptized 
in  infancy,  and  of  course  "  are  out  of  the  visible 
church,"  it  is  declared  that  they  are  not  to  be  baptized 
"  till  they  profess  their  faith  in  Christ  and  obedience 
to  him."  Small  indeed  was  the  number  of  those  who 
had  faith  in  Christ,  when  the  ordinance  of  Christian 
baptism  was  instituted  by  our  blessed  Lord,  shortly 
before  his  ascension  into  heaven.  Even  among  the 
Jews,  the  company  of  believers  was  emphatically  "a 
little  flock,"  and  among  the  Gentiles  it  was  still  less.* 
But  the  injunction  to  the  apostles  was,  "  Go  ye,  there- 
fore, and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have 

*  The  Syroplienician  woman,  the  Greeks  introduced  to  our  Lord 
by  Pliilip  at  the  last  passover,  the  Centurion  whose  servant  our  Lord 
healed  at  Capernaum,  possibly  the  nobleman  also  who  received  a 
similar  favour  at  the  same  place,  appear  to  have  been  believing  Gen- 
tiles. Of  the  Samaritans,  beside  the  woman  who  first  met  our  Saviour 
at  the  well,  it  is  said  that  "  many  believed  on  him."  Yet  in  all,  the 
number  was  probably  less  than  the  one  hundred  and  twenty,  mention- 
ed Acts  i.  15. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM, 


379 


commanded  you;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

It  is  plain  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  adults 
were,  in  this  commission,  contemplated  as  the  first 
recipients  of  Christian  baptism;  for  till  they  had  be- 
come believers  themselves,  they  would  not  be  dis- 
posed, even  if  they  had  been  permitted,  to  receive 
this  sacrament  for  their  children.  It  is  therefore  no 
valid  objection  to  infant  baptism,  that  in  the  original 
institution  there  was  a  command  "  to  teach"  those  to 
whom  it  was  to  be  administered;  of  which  infant 
children,  we  know,  were,  and  ever  will  be,  altogether 
incapable. 

The  gospel  was  to  be  preached,  and  when,  under 
the  powerful  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  its  saving 
efficacy  should  be  experienced,  the  subjects  of  this 
blessed  operation  were,  on  their  profession  of  their 
faith  in  Christ  and  obedience  to  him,  to  receive  this 
seal  of  his  gracious  covenant,  and  to  be  enrolled  as 
members  of  his  visible  church.  This  was  accordingly 
done  both  to  Jews  and  Gentiles  in  the  apostolic  age, 
and  was  prescribed  in  the  command,  to  be  done  in 
every  successive  age  to  the  end  of  the  world.  But 
although  Heathen,  Jews,  and  Infidels,  and  the  igno- 
rant and  uninformed  among  professing  Christians,  and 
even  those  who  had  been  ever  so  well  instructed, 
were  not  to  be  baptized  till  they  were  prepared  to 
make  a  credible  profession  of  sincere  faith  in  Christ 
and  obedience  to  him;  yet,  as  soon  as  they  were  thus 
prepared,  no  matter  what  might  have  been  their  pre- 
vious character,  they  were,  by  this  ordinance,  to  be 
admitted  into  the  visible  Christian  church. 

That  a  profession  which  implies  a  savi7ig  reception 
of  evangelical  truth,  is  to  be  made  by  all  who  receive 
baptism  in  adult  age,  maybe  gathered  from  the  com- 
mand to  "  teach^'  the  recipients  of  this  sacrament — 
to  disciple  them  it  is  in  the  original — to  observe  all 
things  whatsoever,  which  Christ  delivered  to  his 
apostles:  for  the  injunction  here  given  manifestly  re- 
lated to  a  teaching  which  should  be  effective;  and 
which  appears  to  be  so,  at  the  administration  of  the 


380 


LECTURES    ON     THE 


ordinance.  But  in  regard  to  this  point,  we  have  ex- 
ample as  well  as  inference.  We  find  that  when  those 
who  were  converted  under  the  preaching  of  Peter  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  who 
was  taught  the  essential  truths  of  the  gospel  by  the 
evangelist  Philip,  received  this  sacred  rite,  it  was 
connected  with  the  visibility,  or  profession,  of  a  sav- 
ing faith.  I  remark,  further,  that  the  words  of  the 
institution,  while  they  imply  what  has  already  been 
stated,  indicate  also,  that  teaching  should  accompany 
the  celebration  of  Christian  baptism.  Accordingly, 
our  Directory  for  worship  requires,  that  "  before  bap- 
tism, the  minister  use  some  words  of  instruction  re- 
specting the  institution,  nature,  and  ends  of  this  ordi- 
nance." 

Private  baptism,  although  not  forbidden  either  by 
the  divine  word  or  the  standards  of  our  church,  but 
recognized  by  both,  as  lawful  in  speccial  cases,  ought 
nevertheless,  to  be  regarded  only  as  an  exception  to 
a  general  rule.  If  the  united  prayers  of  God's  people 
in  public  worship  are  valuable  on  any  occasion,  they 
certainly  are  so  on  this;  the  witnessing  of  the  ordi- 
nance also,  is  calculated  to  be  useful  to  every  spec- 
tator; and  when  an  addition  is  made  to  the  members 
of  the  church,  whether  those  members  be  in  adult  or 
infant  age,  there  is  an  evident  propriety  that,  in  ordi- 
nary cases,  it  should  be  made  publicly. 

It  is  evident  from  the  circumcision  of  John  the 
Baptist,  that  a  name  was  given,  when  that  rite  was 
administered  by  the  Jews,*  and  it  is  usually  given  in 
the  administration  of  Christian  baptism.  But  the 
remark  of  Dr.  Doddridge  on  this  subject  is,  in  my 
apprehension,  both  just  and  important.  He  says — 
"  The  giving  a  child  its  name,  was  no  more  a  part  of 
the  original  intent  of  circumcision  than  of  baptism: 
it  was  an  incidental  circumstance  that  custom  had 

*  The  Bible  certainly  contains  no  precept  relative  to  the  giving 
of  a  name  when  the  rite  of  circumcision  was  celebrated.  Yet  the 
conjecture  seems  not  improbable,  tiiat  the  usage  originated  from  the 
circumstance  that  Abram  was  called  Abraham,  when  circumcision 
was  appointed. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  381 

added.  And  I  cannot  forbear  saying  that,  in  admin- 
istering the  Christian  ordinance,  I  think  care  should 
be  taken  to  order  the  voice,  so  that  it  may  plainly 
appear  we  only  then  speak  to  the  child  by  the  name 
that  hath  been  already  given  it." 

2.  The  second,  and  affirmative  part  of  the  answer 
now  under  consideration  is, "  that  the  infants  of  such  as 
are  members  of  the  visible  church  are  to  be  baptized." 

The  first  question  here  seems  to  be,  "  Who  are 
members  of  the  visible  church?"  To  this,  our  larger 
Catechism,  in  exact  accordance  with  Chap.  xxv.  of  the 
Confession  of  Faith,  answers — "  The  visible  church 
is  a  society  made  up  of  all  such  as  in  all  ages  and 
places  of  the  world,  profess  the  true  religion,  and  of 
their  children ;"  and  our  form  of  government,  chap.  ii. 
sec.  4,  says — <•  A  particular  church  consists  of  a  num- 
ber of  professing  Christians,  with  their  offspring,  vo- 
luntarily associated  together,  for  divine  worship,  and 
godly  living,  agreeably  to  the  Holy  Scriptures;  and 
submitting  to  a  certain  form  of  Government."  Agree- 
ably to  these  constitutional  articles  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  which  the  passages  of  Scripture,  to  which 
they  refer,  clearly  show  to  be  in  conformity  with  the 
unerring  oracles  of  God,  it  appears  that  the  children, 
or  offspring  of  church  members,  are  themselves  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  as  really  and  fully  as  their  parents; 
and  all  that  we  have  said  hitherto  on  the  subject  of 
baptism,  is  in  coincidence  with  this  idea.  The  off- 
spring of  professing  believers,  then,  having,  by  their 
birth  and  baptism,  a  complete  standing  in  the  visible 
church,  have,  it  appears,  a  right  to  present  their  chil- 
dren in  baptism;  unless  ihey  forfeit  this  right  by  such 
acts  or  neglects,  as  justly  to  subject  them  to  the  disci- 
pline of  the  church:  and  that  this  right  may  be  for- 
feited or  suspended,  both  by  actual  transgression  and 
by  the  neglect  of  duty,  is  a  principle  which  few  will 
deny,  and  which  we  shall  here  take  for  granted.  On 
this  principle,  many  churches  in  our  communion,  re- 
garding a  neglect  of  the  express  command  of  Christ 
in  regard  to  the  sacramental  supper,  "  Do  this  in  re- 
membrance of  me,"  as  marking,  in  all  cases,  a  very 


382  LECTURES      ON     THE 

censurable  deficiency  in  Christian  duty,  exclude  from 
the  privilege  of  offering  their  children  in  baptism,  all 
who  are  chargeable  with  this  neglect;  although  they 
are  the  offspring  of  believing  parents,  and  the  general 
aspect  of  their  character,  and  the  declared  exercises 
of  their  mind,  are  such  as  would  otherwise  entitle 
them  to  the  privilege  which  is  denied  them.  Other 
churches  in  our  communion  think  this  system  unduly 
rigorous,  and  adopt  a  different  practice.  This  subject 
has  been  referred  to  the  supreme  judicatory  of  our 
church  in  repeated  instances;  and  the  result  has  been 
that  each  particular  church  has  been  left  to  pursue, 
in  this  matter,  the  course  which  to  them  may  appear 
most  conformable  to  the  principles  of  the  gospel,  and 
most  conducive  to  Christian  edification. 

I  have  hesitated,  my  young  friends,  whether  I 
would  introduce  this  topic  at  all,  in  the  course  of  lec- 
tures which  I  am  now  delivering  to  you.  But  being 
willing,  on  every  topic  of  religion  and  morals,  to  make, 
on  all  proper  occasions,  a  frank  avowal  of  my  senti- 
ments, and  considering  that  the  matter  in  question  is 
one  of  practice  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  I  thought 
on  the  Vv^hole,  that  my  duty  required  that  I  should 
offer  you  my  sentiments  upon  it.  This,  however,  I 
must  do  briefly  and  summarily,  as  the  nature  of  these 
lectures  do  not  admit,  in  any  case,  of  an  extended 
discussion.  Let  me  then  be  understood  as  delivering 
my  own  individual  sentiments,  and  not  as  advocating 
any  opinions  or  any  practice,  inconsistent  with  the 
statement  I  make.  With  regret  and  grief  I  admit,  that 
in  some  churches  of  our  denomination,  tliere  is  wliat 
appears  to  me  a  very  criminal  laxness,  in  regard  to 
the  administration  of  this  ordinance.  Neither  have 
I  any  belief  in  such  a  thing  as  a  half  way  covenant; 
nor  am  I  prepared  to  say,  that  the  essential  qualifica- 
tions for  participation  in  both  sacraments  are  not  the 
same:  and  I  distinctly  say,  that  baptism,  in  my  judg- 
ment, ought  not  to  be  administered  to  those  of  whom 
there  is  not  reasonable  ground  to  believe,  after  exa- 
mination and  inquiry,  that  the  requisitions  of  duty, 
specified  in  the  vii.  chapter  of  our  Directory  for  Wor- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM. 


383 


ship,  will  be  solemnly  regarded,  and  their  performance 
conscientiously  endeavoured.  All  this  notwithstand- 
ing, I  cannot  make  abstinence  from  the  Lord's  supper, 
the  ground,  in  all  cases,  of  precluding  from  the  privi- 
lege of  devoting  their  infant  offspring  to  God  in  bap- 
tism, some  who  are  desirous  of  doing  it,  although 
they  cannot,  for  the  present,  view  themselves  as  pre- 
pared to  go  to  the  table  of  the  Lord.  It  is  one  thing 
for  me  to  be  willing  to  admit  a  person  to  the  holy 
communion,  and  another  thing  for  that  person  to  be 
wiUing  to  come;  one  thing  to  be  actually  prepared  to 
come,  and  another  thing  to  be  satisfied  that  such  is 
the  fact;  one  thing  to  be  confounded  and  silenced  by 
arguments,  which  go  to  show  that  if  you  are  prepared 
for  one  sacrament  you  must  also  be  prepared  for  the 
other,  and  another  thing  to  be  so  convinced  and  satis- 
fied of  this,  as  to  have  freedom  to  act  in  so  solemn  a 
concern.  Confusion  and  silence  are  not  satisfaction 
or  conviction. 

From  whatever  cause  it  may  arise,  the  fact  is  in- 
disputable, that  there  is  in  some  minds — and  they  are 
often  among  the  best  minds — a  scrupulous  tenderness 
about  going  to  the  table  of  the  Lord,  which  it  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  satisfy  or  remove.  In  the  congre- 
gation in  which  I  was  born  and  brought  up,  and  in 
which  what  is  called  the  strict  plan  was  most  strictly 
followed,  there  was  a  man  who  was  regarded  by  its 
pastor,  my  own  father,  as  second  to  no  man  in  his 
charge,  as  an  exemplary  Christian,  and  yet  this  man 
never  could,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death,  I  believe, 
never  did,  get  his  own  consent  to  approach  the  table 
of  the  Lord — nor  were  his  children  baptized.  It  is 
no  very  uncommon  thing  for  a  communicant  of  deci- 
ded Christian  character,  after  partaking  of  the  eucha- 
rist  for  years  in  succession,  to  become  so  scrupulous 
in  regard  to  his  fitness  to  sit  down  at  the  Lord's  table, 
as  to  absent  himself  from  it  for  a  season — in  some  in- 
stances for  a  long  season.  Are  persons  of  this  descrip- 
tion fit  subjects  for  discipline?  I  think  not;  on  the 
contrary,  it  seems  to  me  they  are  subjects  for  much 
Christian  sympathy,  and  great  tenderness  of  treatment. 


384 


LECTURES     ON    THE 


And  should  such  individuals  as  those  to  whom  in  the 
two  foregoing  instances  I  have  referred,  be  willing 
and  desirous  to  offer  their  children  in  baptism — and 
so  they  might  be — ought  they  to  be  refused?  My 
answer  is  decidedly  in  the  negative.  It  may  be  said, 
I  am  aware,  that  the  refusal  of  baptism,  in  such  cases, 
might  be  the  means  of  bringing  the  parties  the  sooner 
to  the  full  discharge  of  duty;  but  I  cannot  persuade 
myself  that  the  Saviour,  who  taught  his  disciples  "as 
they  were  able  to  bear  it,"  and  bore  with  their  infir- 
mities to  a  very  great  extent;  nor  the  apostle  who 
enjoined  so  much  tenderness  toward  those  who  "  were 
weak  in  faith,"  and  "  babes  in  Christ,"  would  either 
have  inflicted  discipline  in  any  such  case,  or  refused 
any  privilege  of  which  the  parties  concerned  were 
willing  and  desirous  to  avail  themselves.  Doubtless, 
all  hollow  pretences,  and  all  fabricated  or  lightly 
formed  excuses  are,  when  manifest,  to  be  utterly  dis- 
regarded; but  where  there  is  good  evidence  of  real 
conscientiousness,  and  a  careful  regard  and  attention 
to  Christian  duties  in  general,  I  would  never  preclude 
an  individual  from  any  Christian  privilege,  that  he 
was  disposed  to  claim. 

On  the  whole,  then,  I  would  say,  let  all  profane 
persons,  all  neglecters  of  public  or  family  worship,  all 
who  are  uninstructed  in  the  nature  of  the  sacrament 
of  baptism  and  the  solemn  duties  which  it  imposes, 
all,  in  a  word,  as  has  already  been  said,  in  regard  to 
whom  there  is  not  reason  to  hope  and  expect,  that 
they  will  conscientiously  endeavour  to  comply  with 
the  obligations  which  they  come  under  in  the  baptis- 
mal service — let  all  such  be  refused  baptism  for  their 
children,  till  they  are  better  prepared  to  be  admitted 
to  the  privilege:  but  let  all  such  be  admitted,  as  are 
not  chargeable  with  any  of  the  disqualifications  now 
specified.  When  the  first  application  for  baptism  is 
made  by  parents,  not  in  full  communion  with  the 
church,  let  the  pastor  see  them  by  themselves;  inquire 
into  their  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  baptism,  and 
the  obligations  it  involves;  instruct  them,  if  they  need 
it;  learn  the  state  of  their  minds  in  regard  to  religious 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  385 

duty  in  general;  remind  them  that  there  is  another 
sacrament,  in  the  neglect  of  which  they  cannot  hve 
contentedly  without  sin;  converse  with  them  in  a 
very  tender,  serious,  and  impressive  manner;  and 
conchide  with  as  solemn,  appropriate,  and  affecting  a 
prayer  as  he  can  offer.  If  he  find,  as  he  probably 
sometimes  will,  that  the  parties  need  more  instruction, 
or  more  engagedness  in  religion  than  they  possess  at 
his  first  visit,  let  him,  with  affectionate  fidelity,  tell 
them  so;  defer,  for  a  short  time,  a  compliance  with 
their  request,  visit  them  again,  and  endeavour  to  aid 
them  in  attaining  such  preparation  as  that  lie  may 
eventually  admit  them,  with  freedom  on  his  part  and 
advantage  on  theirs,  to  this  sacred  rite.  And  if  such 
procedure  as  is  here  stated  give  offence,  as  in  some 
instances  it  may,  it  is  a  clear  indication  that  the  par- 
ties concerned  ought  to  be  refused  the  privilege  which 
they  seek,  till  they  manifest  a  better  spirit.  This  sys- 
tem, I  am  fully  aware,  will  give  a  pastor  far  more 
trouble,  than  that  in  which  baptism  is  at  once  refused, 
to  all  who  do  not  partake  of  the  other  sacrament. 
But  it  will  be  trouble  well  taken;  for,  if  I  mistake  not 
greatly,  the  course  contemplated  will  be  attended 
with  several  very  important  advantages.  It  is  calcu- 
lated, when  properly  conducted,  to  gain  for  a  pastor 
a  high  degree  of  confidence  and  affection  from  his 
people,  especially  from  the  younger  part  of  his  charge; 
and  it  will  give  him  a  most  desirable  opportunity  to 
learn  the  state  of  their  minds,  and  to  address  to  them 
instruction  and  counsel  of  the  most  appropriate  and 
beneficial  kind;  it  will  often  furnish  him  with  infor- 
mation that  will  be  of  great  use  in  his  public  preach- 
ing; and  it  will  not  unfrequently  result  in  bringing 
into  the  full  communion  of  the  church,  a  number  who 
will  be  among  its  brightest  ornaments;  but  who  might 
otherwise  long  deprive  themselves  of  an  invaluable 
and  comfortable  privilege,  and  the  church  of  the  ad- 
vantage of  their  example,  and  of  their  aid  and  in- 
fluence. 

The  truth  is,  that  in  most  of  the  churches  of  our 
denomination,  there  is  a  mournful  disregard  of  the 


386 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


duty  which  ought  to  be  performed  toward  baptized 
children.  They  are  not  viewed  and  treated  as  mem- 
bers of  the  church  at  all,  nor  more  regard  shown  to 
them  than  to  those  who  are  unbaptized.  This  is  a 
grievous  and  very  criminal  neglect.  If  baptized  chil- 
dren were  often  reminded,  both  by  their  parents  and 
by  the  pastors  and  elders  of  the  churches,  of  their 
early  consecration  to  God,  and  their  actual  standing 
as  members  of  the  church  of  Christ;  and  if  they  were, 
with  great  affection  and  kindness,  instructed  in  their 
duty,  and  the  performance  of  it  v/as  brought  home  to 
their  consciences;  and  if  to  all  this,  much  earnest  and 
special  prayer  were  constantly  offered  to  God  in  their 
behalf — we  should  see  numbers  of  them  more  early, 
and  with  no  objection  from  any  quarter,  partaking  of 
both  the  sacraments  which  our  merciful  God  and  Sa- 
viour has  instituted,  for  the  comfort  and  edification  of 
his  church. 

As  to  those  who  are  in  the  full  communion  of  the 
church,  no  argument  is  necessary  to  show  their  claim 
to  present  their  children  in  baptism,  if  such  a  claim 
be  granted  to  any  in  the  word  of  God.  On  this  point 
there  is  no  controversy.  The  portion  also  of  our 
Standards  which  teaches,  that  if  either  parent  of  a 
child  be  a  church  member,  the  child  is  entitled  to  bap- 
tism, is  fairly  and  firmly  grounded  on  the  passage  of 
Scripture  to  which  our  Confession  of  Faith  and  Larger 
Catechism  refer,  1  Cor.  vii.  14.  "The  unbelieving 
husband  is  sanctified  by  the  wife;  and  the  unbelieving 
wife  is  sanctified  by  the  husband:  else  were  your 
children  unclean,  but  now  are  they  holy."  If  this 
text  has  not  a  reference  to  infant  baptism,  it  seems  to 
be  incapable  of  any  rational  explanation;  but  with 
such  a  reference,  its  meaning  is  plain  and  pertinent. 
I  will  give  you  the  paraphrase  of  Doddridge  on  the 
words,  and  the  note  with  which  he  accompanies  it. 
"  For  in  such  a  case  as  this,  the  unbelieving  hus- 
band is  so  sanctified  by  the  loife,  and  the  unbeliev- 
ing wife  is  so  sanctified  by  the  husband,  that  their 
matrimonial  converse  is  as  lawful  as  if  they  were 
both  of  the  same  faith:  otherwise  your  children,  in 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  387 

these  mixed  cases,  were  unclean,  and  must  be  looked 
upon  as  unfit  to  bo  admitted  to  those  peculiar  ordi- 
nances, by  which  the  seed  of  God's  people  are  distin- 
guished ;  hut  now  they  are  confessedly  holy,  and  are 
as  readily  admitted  to  baptism  in  all  our  churches,  as 
if  both  the  parents  were  Christians;  so  that  the  case 
you  see,  is  in  effect  decided  by  this  prevailing  prac- 
tice." 

The  note  is  as  follows: 

"  On  the  maturest  and  most  impartial  consideration 
of  this  text,  I  must  judge  it  to  refer  to  infant  baptism. 
Nothing  can  be  more  apparent  than  that  the  word 
holy,  signifies  joer^on^,  who  might  be  admitted  to  par- 
take of  the  distinguishing  rights  of  God's  people. 
Compare  Exod.  xix.  6;  Deut.  vii.  6;  chap.  xiv.  2; 
chap,  xxvi.  19;  chap,  xxxiii.  3;  Ezra  ix.  2;  with  Isa. 
XXXV.  S;  chap.  Hi.  1;  Acts  x.  28,  &c.  And  as  for  the 
interpretation,  which  so  many  of  our  brethren,  the 
Baptists,  have  contended  for,  that  holy  signifies  legi- 
timate, and  unclean,  illegitimate;  (not  to  urge  that 
this  seems  an  unscriptural  sense  of  the  word.)  nothing 
can  be  more  evident,  than  that  the  argument  will  by 
no  means  bear  it;  for  it  would  be  proving  a  thing  by 
itself,  idem,  per  idem,  to  argue  that  the  converse  of 
the  parents  was  lawful,  because  the  children  were 
not  bastards ;  whereas  all  who  thought  the  converse 
of  the  parents  unlawful,  must  of  course  think  that  the 
children  were  illegitimate.''^ 

The  comment  of  Scott  on  this  passage  is  to  the  same 
efl^ect  as  that  of  Doddrige,  and  is  well  worthy  of  your 
perusal. 

But  you  are  aware  that  there  is  a  large  denomina- 
tion of  Protestant  Christians,  who  admit  that  the  sa- 
crament of  baptism  is  of  divine  institution,  and  of  per- 
petual obligation,  and  yet  deny  that  it  is,  in  any  case, 
to  be  administered  to  infant  children,  or  to  youth  in 
nonage.  In  a  former  lecture  I  have  remarked,  that 
this  has  been,  and  still  is,  the  subject  of  much  and  ar- 
dent controversy,  and  intimated  that  my  discussion  of 
the  point  would  not  be  extensive:  and  indeed  if  bap- 
tism has  come  in  place  of  circumcision,  as  I  have  en- 


388 


LECTUKES     ON    THE 


deavoured  to  show,  and  the  passage  of  sacred  Scrip- 
ture just  referred  to  is  rightly  expounded  by  the  able 
commentators  quoted — to  which  a  host  of  others  might 
be  added — the  point  is  already  settled,  that  the  infant 
seed  of  believers  are,  by  divine  appointment,  to  be 
baptized. 

Indeed,  my  young  friends,  although  volumes  upon 
volumes  have  been  published  on  this  controversy,  yet 
the  substance  of  it  lies  in  a  narrow  compass,  and  is 
of  a  character  to  be  judged  of  by  any  candid  and  mo- 
derately informed  Christian.  Some  years  since,  when 
called,  in  the  performance  of  pastoral  duty,  to  adminis- 
ter this  sacrament  to  an  infant,  in  the  congregation 
which  I  then  served,  I  introduced  the  administration 
in  nearly  these  words — "Are  we  asked  why  we  bap- 
tize infants?  I  answer,  we  have  the  clearest  evidence 
that  by  divine  appointment  they  were  once  introduced 
into  the  church  of  God,  and  there  is  not  a  particle  of 
evidence  that  he  has  ever,  by  a  subsequent  order  ex- 
cluded them  from  it;  and  if  God  has  once  conferred 
this  privilege  on  the  children  of  believers,  and  has 
never  withdrawn  it,  who  or  what  is  man,  that  he 
should  take  from  these  little  ones  and  from  their  pa- 
rents, a  grant  which  their  Maker  has  made  them?" 
This  short  statement,  I  was  well  informed,  settled 
satisfactorily  the  question  in  relation  to  infant  baptism, 
in  a  mind  which  had  been  labouring  under  painful 
doubts  on  the  subject,  for  twenty  years.  Now,  my 
young  .friends,  here  is  really  the  essence  of  the  matter 
in  controversy;  and  as  the  brief  statement  I  have  re- 
peated, satisfied  one  anxious  mind,  and  I  am  confined 
to  narrow  limits,  I  have  offered  it  to  you,  in  the  hope 
that  it  may  have  a  similar  influence  on  your  minds. 
We  believe  that  God,  in  a  transaction  with  Abraliam, 
as  the  father  of  the  faithful  to  the  end  of  time,  made 
this  solemn  declaration.  (Gen.  xvii.  7.)  "  I  will  esta- 
blish my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and  thy 
seed  after  thee,  in  their  generations,  for  an  everlasting 
covenant;  to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after 
thee."  We  know  that  of  this  covenant  circumcision 
was  the  seal;  and  we  believe  that  in  the  New  Testa- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  389 

ment,  there  is  unequivocal  evidence  that  "  the  bless- 
ing of  Abraham  has  come  upon  the  Gentiles;"  that 
Christian  believers  are  regarded  as  his  spiritual  seed; 
(Gal.  iii.)  and  that  baptism  has  come  in  the  place  of 
circumcision  as  the  seal  of  the  covenant  originally- 
made  with  him.  Now,  all  the  evidence  which  does 
or  can  exist  in  regard  to  this  subject,  is  contained  in 
the  Bible,  which  we  have  in  our  own  language;  and 
hence  I  have  said,  that  every  candid  and  moderately- 
informed  Christian  can  judge  of  it  for  himself.  Let 
him  carefully,  candidly,  and  prayerfully  compare  the 
Old  Testament  with  the  New,  and  decide  for  himself 
on  the  points  I  have  stated;  and  doing  this,  he  decides 
the  question  at  issue  between  us  and  the  Antipasdo 
Baptists.  They  endeavour  to  set  aside  almost  every 
point  in  the  statement  I  have  made.  Bnt  the  Bible, 
they  admit  with  us,  must  determine  where  the  truth 
lies;  and  the  Bible  is  open  to  us  all;  it  is  a  popular 
book,  intended  for  common  Christians  as  well  as  for 
the  learned;  and  when  read  and  made  its  own  inter- 
preter, by  comparing  one  part  with  another,  the  very 
truth,  all  false  reasoning  notwithstanding,  may  be 
known  on  this,  as  on  all  other  important  subjects — 
provided  only  that  there  be  simplicity  of  purpose, 
diligence  of  research,  and  prayer  for  divine  guidance, 
!  in  the  Christian  inquirer.  One  of  the  most  specious 
arguments  used  by  our  Baptist  brethren  is,  that  a 
,  positive  institution  requires  a  positive  precept,  and  is 
I  not  to  be  rested  on  any  inferences,  however  direct  or 
'conclusive  they  may  seem;  and  that  there  is  no  pre- 
cept in  the  word  of  God  for  infant  baptism.  But  this 
objection,  it  has  been  shown,  must  bring  on  the  Bap- 
tists the  charge  of  palpable  inconsistencies  in  their 
own  practice — shown  that  it  will,  among  other  things, 
prohibit  female  communion  altogether;  since  there  is 
neither  express  precept,  nor  recorded  example  for  this, 
in  the  New  Testament.  Nor  is  this  a  solitary  diffi- 
culty— others,  equally  formidable,  attend  the  objec- 
tion; and  I  shall  put  an  end  to  this  extended  lecture 
by  a  short  quotation,  touching  the  point  before  us, 
from  Ridgely's   Body  of  Divinity — "I  cannot   but 


390  LECTURES     ON      THE 

think,"  saj^s  Ridgely,  "  that  this  objection  would 
equally  hold  good  against  Christ's  dying  for  infants, 
as  well  as  others,  or  of  their  being  capable  of  justifi- 
cation, regeneration,  and  the  saving  blessings  of  the 
covenant  of  grace;  and  it  n)ight  be  as  well  inferred 
from  hence  that  they  are  not  to  be  devoted  to  God  in 
other  instances,  besides  that  of  baptism;  or  that  we 
have  not  the  least  ground  to  expect  their  salvation; 
for  it  would  be  as  hard  a  matter  to  find  this  contained 
in  express  words  of  Scripture,  as  that  which  is  the 
matter  of  controversy,  to  wit,  that  they  are  not  to  be 
baptized." 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  391 


LECTURE  LXX. 


The  Lord's  supper,  which  is  to  be  the  subject  of  the 
ensuing  lecture,  is,  according  to  our  Catechism,  "a 
sacrament,  wherein  by  giving  and  receiving  bread 
and  wine,  according  to  Christ's  appointment,  his  death 
is  showed  forth;  and  the  worthy  receivers  are  not 
after  a  corporal  and  carnal  manner,  but  by  faith  made 
partakers  of  his  body  and  blood,  with  all  his  benefits, 
to  their  spiritual  nourishment  and  growth  in  grace." 

The  sacrament  we  now  consider  is  called  the  Lord's 
supper,  because  it  was  instituted  at  the  close  of  the 
Jewish  passover,  which  was  always  celebrated  in  the 
evening.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  the  time 
of  the  day  at  which  the  celebration  takes  place  is  im- 
portant; further  than  that  it  be  that  part  which  is  most 
convenient  to  the  communicants.  It  is  probable  that 
in  the  primitive  church  there  was  scarcely  &n  hour 
of  it|ie  four  and  twenty,  at  which  this  holy  ordinance 
was  not  sometimes  administered — occasionally,  to 
avoid  interruption  or  persecution,  at  a  late  hour  of  the 
night,  or  just  before  the  dawn  of  the  morning. 

In  some  periods  of  the  church  there  have  been 
warm  controversies,  and  even  at  present  there  are 
some  Christian  sects  tliat  are  disposed  to  be  exceed- 
ingly strenuous,  in  relation  to  the  mere  circumstan- 
tials of  this  sacred  rite:  whether  the  bodily  attitude  in 
which  it  should  be  received,  should  be  kneeling,  sitting, 
standing  or  a  recumbent  posture;  whether  the  kind  of 
bread  that  is  used,  should  be  leavened  or  unleavened; 
whether  the  wine  that  is  employed  should  be  in  colour 
red  or  white;  whether  all  the  communicants  should 
be  seated  at  a  table,  or  whether  any  other  table  is 
necessary  than  that  on  which  the  sacred  symbols  are 
placed;  and  whether  the  officiating  minister  should 
himself  hand  the  sacred  symbols  to  each  individual 


392  LECTURES    ON     THE 

communicant,  or  whether  this  may  be  done  by  dea- 
cons and  lay  elders,  or  by  communicants  themselves, 
passing  the  bread  and  wine  from  one  to  another. 
There  has  also  been  a  diiference  of  opinion,  as  to  the 
frequency  with  which  this  sacrament  should  be  cele- 
brated. I  would  by  no  means  say  that  all  these  cir- 
cumstantials stand  exactly  on  the  same  footing.  So 
far  as  any  of  them  are  superstitious,  or  uncommanded, 
and  yet  are  treated  as  of  divine  obligation,  they  are 
certainly,  in  that  view  of  them,  not  to  be  admitted. 

The  denomination  to  which  we  belong  are  in  the 
habit  of  partaking  of  the  holy  communion  in  a  sitting 
posture,  thinking,  that  as  this  ordinance  was  originally 
celebrated  in  the  posture  then  used  at  a  common  meal, 
it  is  most  proper  that  the  posture  which  is  now  in  use 
at  a  common  meal  should  be  observed;  and  they  ob- 
ject to  kneeling,  as  being  without  precept  or  example 
in  the  New  Testament;  and  also  because  it  is  of  Popish 
origin,  and  connected  with  worshipping  the  conse- 
crated elements,  in  the  belief  that  after  consecration, 
they  become  the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  Our 
church  likewise  think,  that  as  the  bread  and  wine  in 
common  use  were  employed  by  our  Lord  in  the  ori- 
ginal institution  of  this  sacrament,  such  of  thes^  ele- 
ments as  are  now  in  common  use,  in  any  particular 
part  of  the  church,  may  there  be  freely  employed 
without  scruple.  It  is  held  by  us  as  essential,  that  a 
regularly  ordained  minister  of  the  gospel  should  ad- 
minister this  ordinance,  but  that  it  is  immaterial  by 
whom  the  bread  and  wine  are  conveyed  from  one 
communicant  to  another;  although  where  elders  or 
deacons  can  perform  this  service,  it  is  deemed  most 
proper  that  it  should  be  done  by  them.  As  to  the 
frequency  with  which  this  sacrament  should  be  dis- 
pensed, the  usage  is  different  in  ditferent  churches  of 
our  denomination.  In  some,  the  celebration  takes 
place  but  once  or  tv;ice  a  year;  in  others  it  is  quarterly, 
and  in  others  monthly.  The  circumstances  of  churches 
ought  certainly  to  have  some  regard,  in  ordering  this 
important  concern;  but  in  general,  it  ought  to  be  more 
frequent  than  twice  in  a  year.     There  is  indeed  no 


SHORTEK    CATECHISM.  393 

precept  in  the  New  Testament  on  the  subject;  bat  in 
the  primitive  church  the  celebration,  if  not  weekly, 
was  very  frequent.  In  some  parts  of  our  church,  all 
the  communicants  go  to  tables  prepared  for  the  pur- 
pose; in  other  parts,  no  other  table  is  used  but  that  on 
which  the  bread  and  wine  are  placed;  and  still  in 
other  parts,  some  sit  at  tables,  and  others  in  adjoin- 
ing seats  or  pews.  These  last  mentioned  usages  ap- 
pear to  me  quite  unimportant:  otherwise  than  as  edu- 
cation or  habit,  and  the  association  of  ideas  which 
they  create,  are  deserving  of  some  regard.  That  the 
communicants  should,  m  all  cases,  be  separated  from 
the  mass  of  a  congregation,  and  appear  as  a  company 
by  themselves,  is  in  my  judgment  highly  expedient 
and  useful.  It  exhibits  the  separation  which  now 
exists  between  the  church  and  the  world,  and  is  a 
striking  emblem  of  the  separation  that  will  take  place 
in  the  final  judgment. 

But  let  me  admonish  you,  my  young  friends,  not 
only  in  relation  to  the  subject  now  before  us,  but  in 
regard  to  many  other  things  in  religion,  to  keep  up  a 
distinction  in  your  own  minds,  between  circumftlan- 
tials  and  essentials.  All  circumstantials  are  not  to  be 
considered  as  either  indifferent  or  unimportant;  and 
in  choosing  for  ourselves,  we  should  adopt  those  which 
appear  the  best,  or  the  least  exceptionable.  Yet  in 
our  difference  from  others,  we  ought  always  to  con- 
sider whether  that  difference  relates  to  essentials  or 
only  to  unessentials.  In  the  matter  under  considera- 
tion, for  example,  I  know  of  no  protestant  evangelical 
denomination,  among  whom  the  sacrament  of  the 
supper  is  so  defectively  and  erroneously  administered, 
as  wholly  to  pervert  it,  or  entirely  to  destroy  its  great 
design  and  its  precious  benefits.  But  in  the  corrupt 
Romish  church,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  doctrine 
of  transubstantiation,  the  worshipping  of  the  elements, 
and  the  entire  refusal  of  one  of  those  elements  to  all 
but  ecclesiastics,  must  be  considered  as  destroying 
essentially  the  very  nature  and  design  of  this  sacred 
institution. 

Let  us  now  attend  to  that  part  of  the  answer  before 

VOL.  II. — 26 


394  LECTURES     ON     THE 

US,  in  which  we  are  reminded  that  the  ordinance  un- 
der consideration  owes  its  institution  "to  Christ's  ap- 
pointment." He  only,  as  the  Lord  and  head  of  the 
churci),  had  a  right  to  aboUsh  the  Jewish  passover, 
and  to  put  in  its  place  the  commemorative  supper  of 
his  own  death.  But  as  his  right  to  do  this  was  su- 
preme and  unquestionable,  the  appointment  becomes 
obligatory  on  his  disciples  to  the  end  of  time.  There 
is  no  intimation  whatever,  that  this  was  to  be  only  a 
temporary  institution;  on  the  contrary,  the  apostle 
Paul  (1  Cor.  xi.  26,)  states  that  the  reason  given  by 
the  divine  Saviour  himself,  for  the  perpetuity  of  this 
sacrament  was — "For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread, 
and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death  till 
he  come."* 

It  is  an  interesting  and  affecting  consideration  that 
the  point  of  time  at  which  our  blessed  Lord  instituted 
this  sacrament,  was  that  which  immediately  preceded 
his  last  inconceivable  sufferings;  when  he  had  in  near 
and  distinct  view, his  awful  agony  in  the  garden  of 
Gethsemane,  and  the  whole  train  of  outward  and  in- 
ward distresses,  which  were  to  terminate  in  his  death 
on  the  cross.  Even  then,  his  love  to  his  redeemed 
people,  wliose  law  place  he  had  assumed,  was  so  in- 
tense, that  he  postponed,  as  it  were,  all  attention  to 
himself,  that  he  might  provide  for  their  edification 
and  consolation,  till  his  second  coming.  0,  my  dear 
youth!  when  we  think  in  what  circumstances  our 
now  glorified  Redeemer  gave  to  his  disciples,  and 
through  them  to  us,  this  memorial  of  his  dying  love, 

*  In  addition  to  his  paraphrase  on  these  words,  Doddridge  gives 
the  following-  note  : 

"  Until  he  come.  Nothing  can  be  more  unreasonable,  than  to  refer 
this,  (as  the  Quakers  do,)  to  the  time  when  Christ  should  come,  by 
his  spiritual  illumination  on  their  minds,  to  take  them  off  from  car- 
nal ordinances ;  for,  not  to  insist  upon  it,  that  we  have  at  least  as 
much  need  of  the  Lord's  supper  as  the  primitive  Christians  had,  (not 
having  so  many  advantages  as  they,  to  lieep  up  the  memory  of  Christ 
in  our  minds,  to  quicken  us  to  holiness,  and  to  unite  us  in  love,)  it  is 
evident,  the  grand  coming  of  Christ  by  the  Spirit  was,  when  it  was 
poured  out  on  tlie  day  of  Pentecost;  an  event,  which  liad  happened 
many  years  before  the  date  of  this  epistle." 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  395 

how  ought  our  love  to  him  to  rise  and  overflow!  Did 
he  repeatedly  say,  "Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me?" 
And  shall  not  every  heart  respond,  "  Yes,  adored 
Immanuel,  we  will,  in  the  strengtli  of  thy  promised 
grace,  remember  and  obey  thee,  '  while  life,  and 
breath,  and  being  last!'  We  will  meet  at  thy  hal- 
lowed board,  and  commemorate  the  triumphs  of  that 
love — 'its  breadth  and  length,  and  depth  and  height' 
— on  which  hang  all  our  hopes  of  an  escape  from  hell, 
and  an  admission  into  heaven — the  heaven  whither 
thou  hast  gone  to  prepare  a  place  for  all  thy  faithful 
followers." 

The  sacrament  of  the  supper  formally  and  essen- 
tially consists,  in  "showing  forth  the  death  of  Christ, 
by  giving  and  receiving  bread  and  wine  according  to 
his  appointment."  Having  in  my  sixty-ninth  lecture, 
when  describing  the  nature  of  a  sacrament,  exposed 
the  chief  errors  and  abuses  of  the  Papists,  and  having 
in  the  present  lecture  said  all  that  I  consider  necessary 
in  regard  to  the  circumstantials  of  this  holy  ordinance, 
let  us  now  fix  our  undivided  attention  on  its  true  de- 
sign. In  its  original  institution  we  are  told  that  our 
Lord  gave  thanks,  and  blessed  the  sacramental  sym- 
bols, before  they  were  distributed  to  his  disciples. 
Hence  it  is  evidently  indispensable,  that  in  every  ad- 
ministration of  the  Lord's  supper  the  bread  and  wine 
be  set  apart  from  a  common  to  a  holy  use,  by  thanks- 
giving and  prayer — thanksgiving  to  God,  for  his  in- 
effable love  in  the  gift  of  a  Saviour  to  fallen  and  sinful 
man;  for  the  great  redemption  which  was  effected  at 
so  astonishing  a  price  as  the  bitter  sufferings  and  death 
of  his  only  begotten  and  well  beloved  Son  ;  and  for 
the  ample  provision  made  for  the  edification  and  con- 
solation of  his  people  in  the  institutions  of  the  gospel, 
and  especially  in  this  deeply  affecting  and  unspeakably 
precious  ordinance — prayer  for  the  pardon  of  sin, 
through  the  atonement  symbolized  in  this  holy  rite; 
for  a  blessing  on  the  sensible  emblems  of  the  broken 
body  and  shed  blood  of  the  Redeemer,  now  set  apart 
to  their  sacred  use ;  and  for  the  special  aid  and  influ- 
ence of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  to  enable  his  people,  even 


396  LECTURES      ON     THE 

the  weakest  of  his  flock,  worthily  to  participate  in 
this  memorial  of  his  dying  love. 

The  bread  and  wine  in  the  eucharist  represent  the 
broken  body  and  shed  blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  when 
he  offered  himself  without  spot  to  God,  as  a  sacrifice 
to  satisfy  divine  justice  for  the  sins  of  his  believing 
people;  and  when  they  receive  and  eat  this  bread, 
and  drink  this  wine,  they  do,  in  the  most  solemn  man- 
ner, avow  their  sole  and  entire  dependance  on  what 
their  Redeemer  then  did  for  them,  for  their  jusiifica- 
tion  unto  eternal  life.  As  bread  and  wine  nourish 
and  cherish  the  life  of  the  body,  so  they  avow  their 
reliance  on  what  was  done  in  their  behalf,  by  their 
bleeding  and  dying  Lord,  for,  the  life  of  their  souls; 
and  as  the  sensible  emblems  become  incorporated 
with  their  bodies,  so  they  avow  their  desire  to  be  in- 
corporated into  Christ,  as  members  of  his  mystical 
body.  Thus  they  show  forth  his  death,  as  the  con- 
summation of  that  obedience  to  the  law  of  God,  and 
endurance  of  its  awful  penalty,  which  constitute  the 
finished  righteousness  that  is  "  unto  all,  and  upon  all 
them  tiiat  believe,"  and  with  which  being  invested, 
they  will  stand  acquitted  in  judgment,  and  be  accept- 
ed as  righteous,  even  in  the  sight  of  that  God  "before 
whom  the  heavens  are  not  clean,  and  his  angels 
chargeable  with  folly." 

Let  ns  now  consider  the  position  that  the  worthy 
receivers  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper  are, 
'•'  not  after  a  corporal  and  carnal  manner,  but  by  faith 
made  partakers  of  his  body  and  blood,  with  all  his 
benefits."  The  principle  here  asserted  was  intended 
both  to  correct  an  important  error,  and  to  inculcate  a 
most  important  truth.  The  error  opposed  is,  that 
monstrously  absurd  doctrine  of  the  Romish  church 
which  is  called  transubstantiation — and  of  which 
enough,  I  apprehend,  has  already  been  said.  The 
truth  inculcated  is,  that  it  is  by  faith,  the  worthy  re- 
ceivers of  this  sacrament  are  made  partakers  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ,  with  all  his  benefits.  To 
this  truth  I  request  your  very  serious  attention.  Some 
recurrence  of  thoughts  already  suggested,  can  scarcely 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  397 

be  avoided;  and  on  a  topic  so  momentous,  a  degree 
of  repetition  seems  rather  desirable  than  objectionable. 

Let  our  first  inquiry  be,  who  are  the  worthy  re- 
ceivers of  this  sacrament  ?  In  rebuking  the  Corinthian 
church,  (1  Cor.  xi.  23 — 34,)  for  a  scandalous  profana- 
tion of  this  sacred  institution,  the  apostle  Paul  twice 
speaks  of  eating  and  drinking  unworthily ;*  and  from 
this,  the  terms  loorthy  and  unworthy  have  come  to 
be  applied  to  conmiunicants;  and  worthily  and  un- 
worthily, to  the  manner  in  which  they  attend  on  the 
table  of  the  Lord.  The  meaning  of  the  apostle  in  the 
word  unworthily  manifestly  is,  a  onanner  unsuita- 
ble to  the  nature  of  the  ordinance;  which,  in  the 
case  of  the  Corinthians,  was  a  grossly  profane,  carnal, 
and  irreverent  manner. 

The  general  truth,  therefore,  taught  by  the  inspired 
apostle,  is,  that  all  who  partake  in  a  manner  suited 
to  the  nature  of  the  ordinance,  partake  worthily;  and 
that  those  who  partake  in  any  way  or  manner  not 
suited  to  the  nature  of  the  ordinance,  partake  tmwor- 
thily.  Onr  English  word  loorthy,  is  generally  under- 
stood to  denote  merit  or  excellence  of  a  high  order, 
when  applied  to  persons  or  character;  and  by  thus 
understanding  it,  in  .reference  to  those  who  may  pro- 
perly partake  of  the  Lord's  supper,-  many  himible 
Christians  fear  to  approach  it.  But  truly,  xi  -personal 
merit  and  desert,  as  these  timid  believers  seem  to 
suppose,  were  the  qualifications  demanded  of  those 
who  might  lawfully  go  to  the  table  of  the  Lord,  not 
one  of  our  fallen  race  could  ever  be  prepared  to  ap- 
pear there.  Not  one  could  ever  affirm  with  truth, 
that  he  had  any  such  excellence  of  character  as  to 
entitle  him  to  claim  this  privilege  as  a  right.  Our 
Lord's  parable  of  the  Pharisee  and  the  Publican,  who 
went  up  to  the  temple  together  to  pray,  was  intended 
to  rebuke  in  the  most  pointed  manner,  every  plea  of 
personal  merit,  when  a  sinner  stands  as  a  party  with 
his  God;  and  if  any  man  say  that  "  he  hath  not  sinned, 
he  deceiveth  himself,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him." 

Deep  humility  of  soul,  self-emptiedness,  and  a  sim- 

*  &.yA^im;,  in  the  original. 


398  LECTURES    ON     THE 

pie  reliance  on  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  with 
an  impressive  perception  of  the  solemnity  of  the  ordi- 
nance, constitute  the  temper,  feeling  and  views,  best 
suited  to  all  who  sit  down  at  the  table  of  the  Lord; 
these  therefore,  are  the  qualities  which  constitute  a 
t^o/'^A^  communicant.  This  point  will  receive  a  more 
particular  attention  in  discussing  the  next  answer  of 
the  Catechism. 

Let  us  now  consider  that  it  is  by  faith,  that  worthy 
communicants  partake  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ, 
with  all  his  benefits,  in  this  sacrament.  By  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ,  figuratively  represented  in  the 
Lord's  supper,  we  are  undoubtedly  to  understand  his 
whole  work  of  satisfying  the  justice  of  God  in  behalf 
of  his  peculiar  people,  which  was  consummated,  or 
completed,  when  his  body  was  broken  and  his  blood 
shed  on  the  cross  of  Calvary;  together  with  the  privi- 
leges and  blessings  resulting,  both  in  this  life  and  that 
which  is  to  come,  from  their  Saviour's  finished  work. 
All  these  rich  and  inestimable  gifts  of  divine  grace, 
faith  receives  and  applies  in  the  proper  celebration 
of  this  holy  rite.  Not  that  faith  is,  in  itself,  more  ex- 
cellent than  its  sister  graces;  for  an  inspired  apostle 
says,  on  a  comparison  of  faith,  hope  and  charity,  that 
the  greatest  of  these  is  charity,*  or  true  love  to  God 
and  man.  Neither  is  faith  separated  from  the  other 
Christian  graces,  either  in  receiving  the  sacred  em- 
blems of  our  Saviour's  bloody  death,  or  at  any  other 
time  of  its  exercise;  for  evangelical  faith  always 
"  worketh  by  love,"  and  is  never  separated  from  a 
measure  of  hope.  But  yet  it  does  exclusively  belong 
to  the  actings  of  the  grace  of  faith,  to  appropriate  to 
the  soul  by  which  it  is  exercised,  all  the  ineffable  be- 
nefits of  Christ's  redemption  exhibited  in  this  precious 
ordinance;  in  which,  inspiration  declares,  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  evidently  set  forth,  crucified  before  the  eyes 
'  of  his  believing  people.  Is  it  then  essential  to  salva- 
I  vation,  that  Christ  Jesus  should  be  seen  in  the  glory 
'  of  his  mediatorial  character?  Faith  is  the  eye  which 
beholds  this  glory.  Is  it  indispensable  that  the  infinite 

*  hya.7r>t  in  the  original. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  399 

value  of  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  the  perfect 
satisfaction  which  it  makes  to  the  offended  justice  of 
God,  should  be  clearly  perceived?  This  perception 
is  obtained  in  the  exercise  of  faith.  Is  it  all  impor- 
tant that  the  soul,  in  view  of  all  its  aggravated  guilt 
and  misery,  should  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the 
Saviour — in  confidence  that  his  blood  will  cleanse 
away  its  deepest  stains,  and  remove  the  guilt  of  all 
its  transgressions,  and  that  his  perfect  righteousness 
will  be  upon  it  for  its  complete  justification  before  the 
tribunal  of  eternal  justice,  and  for  giving  it  a  title  to 
that  everlasting  life  which  the  King  of  Zion  has  me- 
rited, and  will  assuredly  confer  on  all  his  faithful  sub- 
jects? It  is  faith,  in  lively  exercise,  that  surrenders 
the  soul  to  Christ;  it  is  faith  that  confides  in  the  clean- 
sing efficacy  of  his  blood;  it  is  faith  that  puts  on  the 
robe  of  his  righteousness;  it  is  faith  that  pleads  it  now 
as  a  full  answer  to  all  the  demands  of  God's  holy  law; 
it  is  faith  that  looks  forward  to  the  eternal  crown 
which  the  Redeemer  will  give  to  every  one  "  that 
overcometh,  when  mortality  shall  be  sv/allowed  up 
of  life;''  and  it  is  faith  which  antedates  a  measure  of 
heavenly  peace  and  joy — drawing  them  from  the 
Saviour's  fulness,  into  the  soul  in  which  its  vigorous 
actings  are  in  operation. 

It  is  in  the  sacramental  supper,  in  a  pre-eminent 
degree,  that  faith  effects  all  this  for  the  Christian  be- 
liever— while  it  looks  through  the  sensible  emblems, 
to  the  spiritual  blessings  they  symbolize  and  assure, 
to  every  worthy  participant.  Justly  does  our  Con- 
fession of  Faith  declare,  when  speaking  of  this  sacra- 
ment, that  "  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  as  really, 
but  spiritually  present,  to  the  faith  of  believers  in  this 
ordinance,  as  the  elements  themselves  are  to  their 
outward  senses." 

0  my  young  friends!  what  blessed  visions  of  faith 
are  those,  in  which  this  precious  grace  creates  an 
ideal  presence  of  the  suffering,  bleeding,  dying,  aton- 
ing Saviour.  When  Gethsemane,  and  Pilate's  hall, 
and  the  cross,  the  thorny  crown,  the  nails,  the  spear, 
the  hill  of  Calvary,  are  in  present  view;  when  the 


400  LECTURESONTHE 

astounding  cry  of  the  coequal  Son  of  the  Father, 
"My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me," 
thrills  through  the  ear  to  the  heart;  when  tlie  joyous 
voice  quickly  follows,  proclaiming,  "  it  is  finished — 
Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit,"  Yes, 
it  is  here  that  faith  sees  the  sinner's  ransom  amply 
paid;  sees  every  divine  attribute  meeting,  reconciled, 
illustrated  and  shining  on  the  cross — "  mercy  and 
truth  met  together,  righteousness  and  peace  kissing 
each  other," — and  seeing  all  this,  flitigs  the  believing 
soul  under  the  droppings  of  atoning  blood,  and  sees 
every  crimson  stain  washed  away;  looks  at  the  finish- 
ed work  of  redemption,  accepts  it  as  offered,  and  says 
:  in  holy  exstasy,  it  is  mine,  mine  for  ever;  and  in  sa- 
cramental emblems,  seals  it  as  its  own,  in  the  cove- 
nant of  that  God  who  cannot  lie;  triumphs  in  the  pro- 
mise, "I  will  never  fail  thee  nor  forsake  thee;"  looks 
forward  to  a  victory  over  death,  the  grave,  sin  and 
hell;  rises  on  her  strongest  pinions  and  enters  within 
the  vail;  beholds  face  to  face,  the  once  crucified  but 
now  reigning  Redeemer;  prostrates  herself  at  his  feet, 
and  begins  the  paeans  of  the  adoring  throng,  that 
shall  last  while  eternity  endures. 

Well  may  it  be  added,  that  "  spiritual  nourishment 
and  growth  in  grace"  must  be  the  result  of  views  and 
exercises  such  as  these.  Be  assured,  my  dear  youth, 
the  people  of  God  will  testify  that  often,  wlien  they 
have  held  in  their  hands  and  pressed  to  their  quiver- 
ing lips  the  consecrated  bread  and  the  hallowed  cup, 
their  souls  have  bee;i  so  refreshed  and  nourished,  and 
they  have  felt  their  spiritual  strength  so  increased  and 
invigorated,  that  no  duty  appeared  difficult,  and  no 
suffering  by  which  their  Saviour  might  be  honoured, 
seemed  appalling  or  unwelcome. 

In  closnig  this  lecture,  let  me  counsel  sucli  of  you, 
my  beloved  youth,  as  are  at  present  non-communi- 
cants, never  to  withdraw  from  tlie  assembly  of  God's 
people,  during  the  celebration  of  this  blessed  ordi- 
nance. Stay  and  witness  its  administration.  Stay 
and  observe  attentively,  and  meditate  closely  and  so- 
lemnly on  what  you  see  and  hear.     Think  that  the 


S  H.0  RTER    CATECHISM.  40 1 

blessings  represented  in  this  ordinance  are  as  neces- 
sary to  you,  as  to  those  whom  you  behold  receiving 
them.  Think  that  without  a  personal  interest  by 
faith  in  that  atoning  sacrifice  which  you  now  see  ex- 
hibited in  its  appointed  symbols,  you  perish  inevitably 
and  eternally.  Think  on  the  command  of  the  dying 
Saviour,  •'  do  this  in  remembrance  of  me."  Think 
on  the  ingratitude,  as  well  as  the  danger,  of  continu- 
ing to  disobey  this  command.  Think  of  your  sins, 
as  concerned  in  the  crucifixion  of  the  Lord  of  life 
and  glory.  Think  of  his  love  in  making  an  expia- 
tion for  these  sins,  in  behalf  of  all  who  truly  repent 
and  believe  in  him.  Let  earnest  aspirations  ascend 
to  the  throne  of  God's  mercy,  to  enable  you  truly  to 
devote  yourselves  to  him,  and  cordially  to  take  part 
with  his  people,  in  commemorating  your  Saviour's 
dying  love;  and  purpose,  in  divine  strength  earnestly 
implored,  to  give  no  ])eace  to  yourselves  till  you  be- 
long to  the  church  of  God,  both  visible  and  invisible, 
the  latter  as  preparatory  to  the  foruier. 

Again.  I  counsel  such  of  you  as  indulge  some  hope 
— though  it  be  but  a  faint  and  trembling  hope — that 
you  have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  not  unduly  to 
delay  an  approach  to  the  table  of  the  Lord.  From  a 
rash  and  liasty  approach,  I  would  indeed  dissuade 
you.  Do  not  take  some  lively  impression  of  divine 
things,  recently  received  and  little  examined,  as  a 
sufficient  preparation  for  so  solemn  a  transaction,  as 
that  of  professing  yourselves  the  devoted  followers 
of  the  Redeemer.  Take  time  enough  to  put  your 
present  excited  feelings  to  the  test  of  some  endurance, 
and  of  much  inquiry  and  examination.  But  if  inves- 
tigation, and  suitable  delay,  and  much  prayer  for 
divine  illumination  and  guidance,  result  in  a  preva- 
lent hope  tiiat  you  have  chosen  that  good  part  which 
shall  not  be  taken  from  you,  hesitate  not,  although 
your  hope  be  miingled  with  many  fears,  to  turn  your 
back  on  the  world,  and  bind  yourselves  to  the  Lord 
by  sacramental  obligations.  This  decided  step  will 
save  you  at  once  from  a  thousand  solicitations  and 
temptations  to  forsake  the  path  of  duty,  to  which  you 


402  LECTURES      ON     THE 

will  otherwise  be  exposed.  He  who  wishes  to  be 
safe,  should  place  as  many  guards  around  his  virtue 
and  fidelity,  as  lawfully  he  may;  and  not  keep  himself 
in  a  situation  in  which  the  ease  of  returning  to  a 
dangerous  course,  will  operate  as  a  constant  tempta- 
tion to  do  it.  Besides,  the  sacraments  are  means  by 
which  grace  is  increased,  when  any  measure  of  it  is 
possessed.  The  Lord's  supper  was  intended  for  those 
who  are  weak  in  faith  and  babes  in  Christ,  as  well 
as  for  those  whose  faith  is  the  most  vigorous.  Be- 
ware of  being  ashamed  of  that  Saviour  who  bore  so 
much  shame,  and  scorn,  and  suffering  for  you.  Re- 
member his  own  fearful  declarations  in  regard  to  all 
such.  Disregard  the  sneers  and  ridicule  of  the  profli- 
gate and  profane,  and  resolutely  determine  to  obey 
the  call — "  Come  out  from  among  them,  and  be  ye 
separate,  saith  the  Lord,  and  touch  not  the  unclean 
thing,  and  I  will  receive  you,  and  will  be  a  Father 
unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters, 
saith  the  Lord  Almighty." 

Finally,  I  counsel  such  of  you  as  have  already 
made  an  open  profession  of  religion,  by  coming  to  the 
table  of  the  Lord,  to  be  careful  not  to  dishonour  it,  by 
yielding  to  any  of  the  seductions  to  which  your  youth 
and  inexperience  will  render  you  peculiarly  liable. 
Treat  all  your  young  companions,  from  whom  your 
profession  of  religion  has,  to  a  certain  extent,  separat- 
ed you,  with  the  utmost  kindness  and  courtesy;  and 
by  your  amiable  and  winning  deportment,  endeavour 
to  recommend  religion,  by  showing  them  that  it  is  not 
that  gloomy  and  forbidding  thing  which  its  enemies 
represent  it  to  be,  but  that  it  is  the  highest  grace  and 
ornament  of  every  other  excellence.  Yet  beware  of  in- 
jury to  yourselves,  even  from  the  practice  of  this  duty. 
Cautiously  guard  against  giving  your  countenance  to 
any  criminal  pleasures,  indulgences,  and  frivolities 
of  the  young  and  the  gay,  by  participating  in  them 
yourselves.  Rather  bear  your  testimony  against  all 
these  things,  by  showing — more  by  your  conduct  than 
by  your  words,  and  yet  occasionally  by  the  latter  as 
well  as  the  former — that  you  cannot  in  conscience 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  403 

take  part,  in  what  you  have  known  by  experience  to 
be  inconsistent  with  the  love  and  service  of  God. 
I  Again,  I  therefore  say,  beware,  that  in  attempting  to 
I  win  the  world  to  piety,  the  world  does  not  win  you 
1  from  your  Saviour.  0  endeavour  to  live  much  in 
communion  with  him!  Youth  is  the  season  when 
the  affections  are  the  most  ardent;  and  you  cannot  so 
well  consult  your  temporal  and  eternal  happiness,  as 
by  giving  these  ardent  affections  to  your  precious 
Redeemer  and  to  his  holy  cause.  Especially  improve 
every  communion  season  for  this  purpose.  Meet 
every  such  season,  so  far  as  your  circumstances  will 
permit,  with  all  the  preparatory  exercises  that  are 
calculated  to  render  it,  at  once,  the  most  impressive 
and  most  delightful.  Endeavour  to  derive  from  every 
such  season  a  greater  depth,  as  well  as  a  greater  flow, 
to  your  religious  affections;  and  a  firmer,  as  well  as 
a  more  lively  purpose,  to  discharge  with  fidelity  every 
Christian  duty.  Thus  will  you  be  sure  to  render 
your  profession  of  religion  most  satisfactory  and  com- 
fortable to  yourselves,  most  honourable  to  your  Sa- 
viour, most  useful  to  the  world,  and  most  conducive 
to  a  triumph  over  death,  and  a  joyful  entrance  on  the 
rest  and  the  rewards  of  the  faithful  followers  of  the 
great  Captain  of  salvation.  Amen. 


404  LECTURES    ON    THE 


LECTURE  LXXI. 


The  answer  of  our  Catechism  now  to  be  discussed,  is 
thus  expressed — "  It  is  required  of  them  that  would 
worthily  partake  of  the  Lord's  supper,  that  they  ex- 
amine themselves  of  their  knowledge  to  discern  the 
Lord's  body,  of  their  faith  to  feed  upon  him,  of  their 
repentance,  love,  and  new  obedience;  lest  coming  un- 
worthily, they  eat  and  drink  judgment  to  themselves." 

In  our  last  lecture,  a  general  explanation  was  given 
of  the  terms  worthily  and  unworthily,  as  applicable 
to  the  manner  in  which  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  may  be  received  ;  and  it  was  intimated  that 
in  illustrating  the  answer  now  before  us,  this  point 
would  receive  a  more  particular  consideration.  This 
I  shall  attempt  by  showing — 

L  That  self-examination  is  an  important  duty,  in 
coming  to  the  table  of  the  Lord. 

II.  The  subjects  of  this  examination. 

III.  The  danger  of  neglecting  the  duty  prescribed. 
First,  then,  let  us  consider  that  self-examination  is 

an  important  duty  in  coming  to  the  table  of  the  Lord. 
The  truth  of  this  position  is  clearly  taught  in  the  apos- 
tolical injunction — "Let  a  man  examine  himself,  and 
so  let  him  eat  of  that  bread  and  drink  of  that  cup;" 
and  it  is  on  the  result  of  this  examination,  that  each 
individual  must  form  for  himself  the  important  deci- 
sion, whether  he  can  worthily  partake  of  this  holy 
ordinance  or  not.  The  ordinance  requires  that  every 
participant  should  possess  some  good  evidence  of  his 
being  in  a  gracious  state ;  and  the  examination  of 
which  I  am  speaking  essentially  consists  in  a  careful 
inquiry  as  to  this  fact,  and  forming  an  impartial  judg- 
ment respecting  it,  according  to  evidence  derived  from 
the  Scriptures  of  truth.  "Examine  yourselves  whe- 
ther ye  be  in  the  faith;"  says  St.  Paul,  "prove  your 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  405 

own  selves;  know  ye  not  yonr  own  selves,  how  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  in  you  except  ye  be  reprobates."  And 
as  the  word  of  God  is  to  be  the  rule  and  test  of  the 
trial,  so  the  Holy  Spirit,  \yho  indicted  that  word,  is 
to  be  earnestly  implored  to  enlighten,  assist,  and  guide 
us  to  a  right  conclusion.  In  the  scrutiny  we  contem- 
plate, the  prayer  of  every  communicant  should  be  that 
of  the  Psalmist — "Search  me,  0  God,  and  know  my 
heart;  try  me  and  know  my  thoughts:  And  see  if 
there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me,  and  lead  me  in  the 
way  everlasting." 

Self-examination  is  at  all  times  a  duty  of  great  im- 
portance, and  one  in  wliich  every  Christian  ought  to 
be  much  employed.  No  day  should  ordinarily  pass, 
without  some  attention  to  it;  and  no  Lord's  day 
should  go  by,  without  attending  to  it  more  particular- 
ly. But  in  the  immediate  prospect  of  the  holy  com- 
munion, unless  prevented  by  uncontrollable  circum- 
stances, there  ought  to  be  a  formal,  extensive  and 
thorough  examination.  Every  part  of  duty,  and  every 
relation  of  life,  as  well  as  the  existence  and  exercise  of 
those  graces  which  are  presently  to  be  specially  noticed, 
ought  to  be  the  subject  of  careful  review,  and  of  seri- 
ous search.  However  frequently  such  an  examination 
as  this  may  have  taken  place  in  time  past,  it  ought 
when  practicable,  to  be  renewed  at  every  communion 
season — by  the  oldest  communicant,  as  well  as  by  the 
youngest.  I  have  said  that  this  ought  to  be  done 
ivhen  practicable;  for  it  should  be  understood,  that 
Christians  may  sometimes  be  in  such  circumstances, 
as  not  to  admit  of  nuich  deliberate  premeditation. 
When  absent  from  home,  they  may  have  an  unex- 
pected opportunity  to  go  to  the  Lord's  table;  and 
when  at  home,  events  in  providence  may  occasionally 
forbid  retirement,  or  nuich  abstraction  from  active  and 
social  duties. — In  all  such  cases,  there  should  be  no 
hesitation  to  approach  the  Lord's  table;  for  where 
there  has  been  no  voluntary  neglect,  we  may  always 
hope  for  special  aid,  in  attempting  any  duty  to  which 
we  may  be  called.  It  has  sometimes  been  said,  that 
an  habitually  holy  life  is  the  best  of  all  preparations 


406  LECTURES    ON    THE 

for  going  to  the  holy  communion:  and  this  is  unques- 
tionably true;  for  such  a  life  can  never  be  led  without 
much  self-searching,  and  a  special  attention  to  it, 
whenever  it  is  practicable,  at  communion  seasons. 

II.  Let  us  now  consider  the  subjects  of  examina- 
tion, as  they  are  specified  in  the  answer  under  discus- 
sion— 

1.  Of  our  knowledge  to  discern  the  Lor d^s  body. 
This  must  imply,  in  all  cases,  that  the  party  who  con- 
templates going  to  the  Lord's  table  has  knowledge 
enough  to  distinguish  the  use  of  the  bread  and  wine 
in  the  sacrament,  from  the  purposes  which  they  serve 
as  ordinary  food,  or  in  a  common  meal.  Hence,  in 
the  Protestant  church,  these  sacred  symbols  are  never 
dispensed  to  idiots,  to  infants,  or  to  any  who  are  gross- 
ly ignorant  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  whatever  may  be  their  age.  All  such 
individuals  are  absolutely  incapable  of  that  examina- 
tion which  the  divine  command  explicitly  enjoins. 
But  those  who  are  not  incapable  of  discerning  the 
Lord's  body,  from  idiocy,  or  infancy,  or  ignorance, 
may  still  neglect  to  do  it,  from  carelessness  or  inatten- 
tion; and  this  was  the  very  abuse  which  the  apostle 
so  severely  reprehended  in  the  Corinthians.  They 
went  to  the  Lord's  table  as  they  would  have  gone  to 
a  carnal  feast;  and,  shocking  to  repeat!  "one  was 
hungry  and  another  drunken."  All  such  excesses  as 
these  are  utterly  impracticable  in  our  day,  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  communion  is  celebrated.  Yet, 
alas!  it  is  neither  impracticable,  nor,  it  is  to  be  feared, 
very  uncommon,  for  this  holy  rite  to  be  attended  on, 
by  some  who  never  look  through  the  sensible  signs  to 
the  spiritual  objects  which  they  signify.  A  part  of 
the  necessary  examination  therefore,  consists  in  a  very 
serious  inquiry  into  our  practical  knowledge  of  the 
spiritual  significancy  of  the  broken  bread,  and  the 
wine  poured  forth  and  received,  in  this  precious  insti- 
tution— an  inquiry  whether  we  diO  kyiow  and  recollect 
that  they  are  the  sacred  emblems  of  the  broken  body 
and  shed  blood  of  the  dying  and  atoning  Saviour;  and 
are  to  be  received  by  us  as  the  most  solemn  and  sin- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  407 

cere  profession  of  our  reliance  on  his  sufferings  and 
death,  as  the  sole  and  all-sufficient  expiation  of  our 
sins,  and  the  only  possible  ground  of  our  justification 
and  acceptance  with  God.  Without  this,  we  cannot 
be  prepared  for  an  examination — 

2.  Of  our  faith  to  feed  upon  him.  In  the  course 
of  these  lectures,  the  graces  of  faith  and  repentance, 
and  the  nature  of  new  or  evangelical  obedience,  have 
been  fully  considered;  and  the  operations  of  faith  in 
the  sacramental  supper,  were  shown  at  considerable 
length  in  the  last  lecture.  On  these  topics,  therefore, 
I  must  refer  you  to  what  has  already  been  said,  with 
some  short  additional  remarks,  bearing  directly  on  the 
duty  of  self-examination,  in  the  immediate  prospect 
of  the  sacrament  we  consider.  In  the  near  view  of 
an  approach  to  the  table  of  the  Lord,  there  should  be 
an  inquiry  into  the  I'eality  and  genuineness  of  our 
faith,  and  whether  or  not  it  is  in  present  exercise;  and 
if  not  in  present  and  lively  exercise,  whether  there  is 
at  least  a  strong  and  earnest  desire,  that  it  may  be 
called  into  such  exercise,  and  that  an  attendance  on 
the  sacrament  may  be  the  blessed  means  of  producing 
this  effect.  Fisher  says,  justly,  that  "to  feed  upon 
Christ  in  the  sacrament  of  the  supper,  is  to  receive 
into  our  souls  all  the  spiritual  good  exhibited  to  us  in 
the  promise,  (John  i.  IG,)  of  his  fulness  have  all  we 
received,  and  grace  for  grace.  That  faith  feeds  in 
this  sacrament  upon  all  those  discoveries  of  him  that 
are  made  in  the  word;  such  as  his  person,  offices, 
mediatorial  characters  and  relations — and  that  to  know 
whether  we  have  that  faith  which  feeds  on  Christ  in 
the  word  and  sacrament,  we  must  consider  that  where 
there  is  true  and  saving  faith,  it  is  of  an  appetizing 
nature,  whetting  the  spiritual  appetite  after  more  and 
more  of  him;  it  purifies  the  heart;  accounts  all  things 
but  loss  for  Christ;  and  is  careful  to  maintain  good 
works."  Have  I  any  measure  of  a  faith  of  this  de- 
scription, and  a  strong  desire  after  a  greater  measure? 
— is  the  question  that  each  communicant  should  put 
to  himself,  when  about  to  go  to  the  table  of  the  Lord. 

3.  Of  our  repentance.     Our  repentance  ought  to 


408  LECTURES     ON     THE 

be  renewed  on  going  to  the  Lord's  table,  by  calling  to 
remembrance,  so  far  as  we  are  able,  the  sins  of  our 
whole  life,  and  especially  those  which  have  been  com- 
mitted since  the  last  renewal  of  our  covenant  vows 
in  this  sacrament.  The  sins  of  his  people  were  the 
cause  of  the  awful  sufferings  and  death  of  their  Re- 
deemer— "He  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the 
tree:"  And  it  is  peculiarly  incumbent  to  mourn  for 
them,  with  deep  contrition,  and  to  renounce  them  re- 
newedly  and  with  the  sincerest  abhorrence,  when  we 
attend  on  an  ordinance  which  brings  into  view  the 
tremendous  agonies  which  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory 
endured,  when  he  made  an  expiation  of  them.  A 
contemplation  of  the  evil  of  sin  as  it  is  seen  in  the 
cross  of  Christ,  is  at  such  a  time  peculiarly  proper. 

4.  Our  love — Love  to  God,  and  love  to  man,  should 
be  the  subject  of  special  inquiry  and  self-examination, 
in  preparing  for  a  worthy  participation  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Every  communicant  should  put  to  himself 
such  questions  as  the  following.  Is  my  love  to  God 
really  supreme?  Has  he  the  highest  place  in  my  af- 
fections, so  that  I  would  forfeit  and  forego  any  thing, 
and  every  thing  else,  rather  than  give  up  my  love  to 
him,  and  lose  the  hope  of  his  love  to  me.  Am  I  not 
able,  at  some  favoured  seasons,  at  least,  to  say  with 
truth  and  sensibility,  what  was  said  by  the  inspired 
Psalmist — "  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee,  and 
there  is  none  on  earth  that  I  desire  beside  thee?" 
Do  I  love  all  the  attributes  of  God — his  justice,  truth, 
and  holiness,  as  well  as  his  goodness,  grace,  and  mer- 
cy? Do  I  love  to  think  of  God,  as  of  a  being  in  all 
respects  such  as  he  is  represented  to  be  in  his  holy 
word?  Do  I  especially  delight  in  contemplating  the 
divine  attributes,  as  they  meet,  and  harmonize,  and 
shine,  in  the  work  of  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ? 
Do  I  here  find  the  perfections  of  God  displayed  in  the 
most  glorious  and  transcendent  manner?  Is  God  in 
Christ  the  object  of  my  warmest  love,  my  highest  de- 
light, the  theme  of  my  sweetest  meditations? 

Do  I  love  all  mankind,  with  the  love  of  benevolence? 
Do  I  so  love  them,  that  I  am  willing  to  lay  myself 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  409 

out,  to  promote  their  happiness? — so  that  I  am  willing 
to  part  with  property  to  relieve  their  wants;  and  to 
use  personal  and  even  painful  efforts  to  do  them  good  ? 
Is  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  men  a  thing  that  I 
most  earnestly  desire?  Can  I  think  of  the  multitudes 
around  me  who  are  living  in  sin,  or  the  greater  mul- 
titudes who  are  deprived  of  gospel  ordinances,  and 
the  unnumbered  myriads  of  the  heathen  world  who 
have  never  heard  of  the  name  of  a  Saviour,  without 
a  very  painful  anxiety  that  they  should  receive  and 
embrace  the  offers  of  salvation?  Am  I  in  charity 
with  all  mankind?  Do  I  forgive,  wish  well  to,  and 
pray  for  my  enemies?  Can  I  even  go  to  the  table  of 
the  Lord  with  one  who  I  know  is  my  enemy;*  hav- 
ing freed  my  heart  from  all  malice  against  him,  and 
feeling  that  I  sincerely  desire  that  he  maybe  forgiven 
of  God,  and  be  prepared  to  meet  me  in  that  blessed 
state  where  there  is  no  enmity?  Do  I  love  the  people 
of  God  with  a  pure  heart  fervently?  Do  I  love  them 
because  they  are  the  people  of  God,  and  bear  his 
image?  Do  I  delight  in  their  company?  Are  they 
in  my  esteem  "  the  excellent  of  the  earth,  in  whom 
is  all  my  delight?"  Do  I  hope  to  hold  with  them  the 
communion  of  saints,  in  tlie  ordinance  immediately  in 
prospect — to  mingle  my  faith  and  afiections  with 
theirs,  in  looking  to  our  dear  common  Lord,  and  to 

*  Tt  is  a  gross,  and  yet  a  common  perversion  of  the  text,  Matt.  v. 
23,  24,  when  Christians  make  it  the  ground  of  abstaining  from  the 
table  of  the  Lord,  because  a  personal  injury  has  been  received  from 
an  individual,  or  several  individuals,  who  will  be  present  there.  The 
text  is  completely  inverted.  It  says— "If  thy  brother  hath  aught 
against  thee ;"  not  "  if  thou  hast  aught  against  thy  brotlier."  If  I 
have  injured  my  brother,  he  has  aught  against  me — I  have  sinned 
against  my  neighbour ;  and  as  the  evidence  of  my  sincere  repentance, 
I  must  go  to  him,  confess  my  fault,  and  ask  his  forgiveness,  before  I 
can  go  to  the  communion  table  with  a  clear  conscience.  But  if  my 
Christian  brother  has,  without  guilt  on  my  part,  injured  me,  I  may 
and  ought  to  forgive  him  from  the  heart,  pray  for  him,  that  he  may 
repent  and  obtain  forgiveness  of  God.  Doing  this,  I  may  go  to  tlie 
table  of  the  Lord,  let  his  feeling  or  conduct  toward  me  be  what  it 
may.  It  would  be  strange  indeed,  if,  in  addition  to  the  injury  I  have 
received,  it  were  in  the  power  of  the  injurious  party  to  deprive  me  of 
a  precious  privilege,  and  an  inestimable  benefit. 

VOL.  II. — 27 


410  LECTURES    ON    THE 

feel   toward   them   as  my   brethren    and    sisters   in 
Christ  ? 

5.  Finally — of  our  new  obedience — so  called,  be- 
cause it  proceeds  from  that  new  principle  of  sincere 
love  to  the  law  and  commandments  of  God,  which  no 
unsanctified  man  possesses;  and  which  is  yielded  only 
by  grace  and  strength  derived  from  Christ,  as  the 
source  of  all  divine  influence;  while  his  perfect  merits, 
and  not  any  obedience  or  deserts  of  our  own,  are  re- 
lied on  for  acceptance  with  God.  Am  I,  let  the  pro- 
fessing Christian  ask,  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of 
every  known  duty  both  to  God  and  man?  Am  I 
conscious  of  pleading  for  no  indulgence  to  a  favourite 
lust?  Do  I  watch  against  easily  besetting  sins,  and 
grow  in  the  strength  of  my  desires  to  be  delivered 
from  them?  Have  I,  since  I  last  went  to  the  table  of 
the  Lord,  gained  some  advantage  over  my  spiritual 
foes?  Or  have  I  not  rather  so  fallen  into  sin,  that  I 
need  on  this  occasion  specially  to  bewail  my  guilt,  to 
be  deeply  humbled  on  account  of  it,  and  to  look  to 
the  atoning  blood  of  Christ  for  a  fresh  cleansing,  and 
earnestly  to  implore  the  aids  of  his  Holy  Spirit  to 
strengthen  and  keep  me  in  all  time  to  come  ? 

in.  We  are  to  consider  the  danger  of  neglecting 
the  duty  prescribed — "lest  coming  unworthily,  says 
the  answer  before  us,  we  eat  and  drink  judgment  to 
ourselves."  You  perceive  tliat  the  framers  of  our 
excellent  Catechism,  in  quoting  the  apostle  here,  have 
avoided  the  terrific  term  "  damnation,"  and  taken  the 
word  "judgment"  which  our  translators  unhappily 
placed  only  in  the  margin.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted, 
that  the  marginal  reading  of  this  passage,  which  is 
unquestionably  the  proper  one,  had  not  been  origi- 
nally placed  in  the  text;  for  standing  as  it  does, it  has 
often  been  a  sad  stumbling  block  to  tender  consciences, 
keeping  away  from  the  table  of  their  Redeemer,  for 
a  season  at  least,  if  not  for  the  v/hole  of  life,  some 
whom  the  Saviour  himself  would  certainly  have  wel- 
comed there.  You  have  only  to  read  to  the  end  of 
the  chapter,  (1  Cor.  xi.)  to  see  from  the  apostle's  own 
showing,  tliat  it  was  not  eternal  damnation,  or  final 


SHOKTER    CATECHISM.  411 

perdition,  which  the  Corinthians  brought  on  them- 
selves, by  even  the  shocking  abuse  of  this  ordinance 
with  which  they  were  chargeable.  It  appears  that 
temporal  calamities,  "  weakness  and  sickness,"  had 
been  sent  upon  them,  to  bring  them  to  deep  and  tho- 
rough repentance,  for  their  great  sin  in  so  shamefully 
and  awfully  profaning  this  holy  sacrament;  and  that 
this  was  done,  "that  they  should  not  be  condemned 
with  the  world."  It  also  seems  to  be  intimated,  that 
those  who  had  even  died  under  the  diseases  inflicted, 
had  not  been  finally  lost;  since  their  death  is  called 
"  a  sleep,"  the  term  commonly  used  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, to  denote  the  rest  from  sin  and  suffering  of 
those  who  die  in  the  Lord. 

But  do  not  suppose,  my  dear  young  friends,  (hat 
by  any  remarks  I  have  now  made,  I  would,  in  the 
close  of  this  lecture,  abate  any  thing  I  have  previously 
said,  on  the  importance  of  self-examination,  as  pre- 
paratory to  an  attendance  on  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper;  or  speak  lighly  of  the  sin  of  those 
who  partake  of  it  in  a  careless  and  irreverend  manner. 
They  who  do  so,  are  expressly  declared  "  to  eat  and 
drink  judgment  to  themselves;"  that  is,  they  will 
bring  upon  themselves  the  judgment  or  displeasure 
of  God;  unless  it  be  prevented  by  sincere  contrition 
and  repentance.  God  may  correct  them,  as  he  did 
the  Corinthians,  by  inflicting  on  them  temporal  cala- 
mities, as  a  chastisement  that  shall  render  them  sen- 
sible of  their  guilt,  and  humble  and  penitent  on  ac- 
count of  it.  And  if  this  effect  is  not  produced,  by 
some  of  the  methods  by  which  God  restores  his  back- 
sliding people,  those  who  have  been  guilty  of  the  sin 
of  profaning  "this  sacred  ordinance,  will  suffer  his 
judgment  for  it,  in  common  with  all  their  other  ag- 
gravated sins,  in  a  future  state  of  misery  and  perdition. 
On  the  whole,  therefore,  be  sensible  of  the  danger  of 
communicating  unworthily,  and  endeavour  to  avoid 
it,  by  a  proper  attention  to  the  self-examination  which 
I  have  endeavoured  to  explain  and  inculcate  in  this 
lecture.  Carefully  seek  to  avoid  all  errors  and  ex- 
tremes, in   regard  to  this  most  interesting  concern. 


412  LECTURES     ON     THE 

Remember  what  the  apostle  Paul  says  to  Timothy — 
"  God  hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of  fear,  but  of 
power,  and  of  love,  and  of  a  sound  mind."  Pray  for 
this  sound  mind — for  a  sober  judgment,  heavenly 
wisdom,  and  firmness  of  purpose,  so  that  yoTi  may 
neither  be  kept  away  from  this  sacrament  by  unne- 
cessary and  unwarrantable  fears,  nor  come  to  it  rashly 
or  carelessly;  but  coming  with  suitable  preparation, 
you  may  partake  of  all  the  inestimable  benefits,  which 
it  was  intended  and  is  calculated  to  convey  to  every 
sincere  disciple  of  Christ. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  413 


LECTURE  LXXII. 


We  are  now  to  consider  the  important  duty  of  prayer, 
the  last  subject  treated  of  in  the  unrivalled  summary 
of  theological  truth  set  forth  in  our  Shorter  Catechism. 

"  Prayer,  says  the  Catechism,  is  the  offering  up  of 
our  desires  to  God  for  things  agreeable  to  his  will,  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  with  confession  of  our  sins,  and 
thankful  acknowledgment  of  his  mercies." 

Previously  to  entering  on  the  illustration  of  this 
proposition,  I  think  it  important  to  obviate  certain 
objections,  which  the  enemies  of  religion  raise  against 
the  duty  of  prayer — objections  which  go  to  set  it 
aside  altogether,  and  which  I  have  reason  to  know 
have  had  a  melancholy  influence  on  the  minds  of 
some  young  persons,  and  which  indeed,  have  occa- 
sionally operated  as  perplexing  temptations,  even  to 
the  pious.  I  shall  endeavour  to  state  these  objections 
in  all  their  strength;  and  hope  to  reply  to  them  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  satisfy  every  attentive  and  can- 
did mind,  that  they  are  utterly  unfounded  and  false. 

1.  Some  have  said  that  prayer  is  unnecessary  and 
useless,  because  the  Supreme  Being  is  so  good  that 
we  ought  not  to  suppose  that  he  needs  any  entreaties 
to  bestow  on  us  what  we  need;  and  that  he  is  so  wise 
that  we  cannot  suppose  he  requires  any  information 
of  what  we  want.  To  this  I  reply,  that  God  is  in- 
deed both  good  and  wise,  and  that  in  an  infinite  de- 
gree; and  yet  that  he  may,  and  does,  require  us  to 
make  known  our  requests  to  him,  for  the  purposes  of 
our  own  benefit.  By  asking  from  him  in  prayer  the 
supply  of  all  our  wants,  we  cultivate  and  increase  a 
sense  of  our  dependence  on  Him,  and  of  our  obliga- 
tions to  Him.  We  are  constantly  kept  mindful  that 
all  the  good  we  enjoy  proceeds  from  the  hand  of  God, 
that  we  are  wholly  indebted  to  him  both  for  its  recep- 


414  LECTURES      ON      THE 

tion  and  its  continuance,  and  are  consequently  ac- 
countable to  him  for  the  right  improvement  of  his 
.  gifts.  Now,  here  is  the  foundation  of  all  religion,  and 
of  all  moral  obligation.  The  foundation  of  all  unques- 
tionably is,  a  just  sense  of  our  entire  dependence  on 
;  God,  as  our  Creator  and  Benefactor,  and  the  obliga- 
'  tion  thence  arising,  to  endeavour  to  please  him,  by 
s  rightly  employing  our  faculties,  and  by  an  obedience 
■  to  his  requisitions:  and  it  is  too  obvious  to  need  argu- 
ment, that  prayer,  in  which  dependence,  indebtedness 
and  obligation,  are  constantly  and  solemnly  acknow- 
ledged, must  have  a  direct  and  powerful  influence,  in 
augmenting  the  force,  and  keeping  in  lively  exercise, 
these  fundamental  moral  sentiments  and  principles. 
Nay,  I  firmly  believe  it  may  be  asserted,  without 
danger  of  mistake  or  error,  that  without  prayer,  these 
sentiments  and  principles  do,  and  will,  for  ever  remain, 
if  not  absolutely  inoperative,  yet  exceedingly  weak 
and  partial.  It  follows  then,  that  although  God  is 
disposed  to  do  us  good,  and  perfectly  knows  all  that 
we  need,  yet  without  prayer,  we  shall  not  be  prepared 
to  receive  his  benefits  ivitli  a  suitable  temper  and 
disposition,  and  that,  on  this  very  account,  they  may 
not  be  conferred:  that  wanting  a  right  disposition, 
God  may  foresee  that  we  should  pervert  and  abuse 
his  gifts,  if  they  were  bestowed,  and  hence  that  his 
vexy  good7iess,'diS,  well  as  his  justice,  may  be  con- 
cerned in  withholding  them  from  us.  Prayer,  there- 
fore, by  preparing  us  for  the  divine  favours,  gives  us 
the  best  reason  to  expect  them,  and  renders  them  real 
blessings  when  they  are  received. 

2.  It  has  been  said,  that  we  ought  not  to  suppose 
that  it  is  agreeable  to  God,  to  receive  those  humble 
acknowledgments  of  dependence  and  obligation,  and 
those  ardent  expressions  of  praise  and  thanksgivings, 
which  are  usually  off'ered  in  prayer;  since  these  are 
not  pleasing  or  acceptable,  even  to  a  good  man.  This 
is  a  most  insidious  and  delusive  objection,  and  will 
appear  to  be  so,  if  carefully  examined.  Let  it  be 
considered  then,  that  there  is  but  little  ground  for  any 
comparison  whatever  between  God  and  man,  in  the 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  415 

point  before  us.    Every  good  man  is  made  to  believe 
and  feel,  by  the   very  goodness   which   characterizes 
him,  that  all  the  benefits  or  obhgations  which  he  con- 
fers, entitle  him  to  but  little  praise;  for  he  must,  in 
the  first  place,  have  the  power  and  means  to  confer 
benefits  on  his  fellow  creatures  given  him  by  God; 
and  in  the  second  place,  the  very  disposition  to  confer 
them,  must  come  from  the  same  source.    High  praise 
is  therefore  not  his  due.     He  has  only  endeavoured 
to  act  the  part  of  a  faithful  steward,  in  distributing 
the   bounties  which  the  Great  Giver  of  all  good  has 
committed  to  his  management  and  disposal.    But  that 
Great  Giver  himself,  is  the  underived  and  overflowing 
fountain  of  all  beneficence;  and  to  him,  of  course,  the 
highest  praise  is  justly  and  strictly  due.      Besides, 
great  and  frequent  praise,  bestowed  on  the  best  man 
in  the  world,  is  calculated  to  endanger  his  virtue, 
which  is  still  imperfect.     But  as  the  moral  excellence 
of  God  is  both  perfect  and  immutable,  it  can  never  be 
endangered  by  the  warmest  and  most  unceasing  ac- 
knowledgments of  indebtedness,  and  expressions  of 
gratitude.  Who  sees  not  no  w  that  nothing  like  an  exact 
parallel  can  be  run  between  man  and  his  Maker,  as  is 
attempted  in  this  objection?     Yet  after  all,  it  is  true 
that  every  good  man,  while  he  seeks  to  avoid  all  ex- 
travagant encomium,  nevertheless  does  desire  to  know 
that  one  on  whom  he  has  conferred  favours,  is  suit- 
ably grateful  for  them.     A  virtuous  parent  expects 
this  from  his  children,  and  is  always  displeased  if  it 
be  found  wanting.     The  Great   parent  of  all  good, 
therefore,  agreeably  to  this  analogy,  may  well  be 
supposed  to  look  for  the  manifestation  of  a  suitable 
gratitude  from  all  his  moral  offspring,  and  to  be  dis- 
pleased when  it  is  found  wanting:  and  as  all  the  con- 
ceptions and  expressions  of  our  obligations  to  God, 
which  we  can  ever  form,  must  fall  far  short  of  what 
is  his  due,  we  need  never  fear  an  excess,  in  the  warmth 
and  elevation  of  the  praise  and  thanksgiving  which 
we  off'er  him.     Thus  it  appears,  that  so  far  as  there 
is,  in  this  concern,  any  fair  reasoning  from  man  to 
God,  it  is  conclusively  in  favour  of  the  duty  of  prayer, 


416  LECTURES    ON    THE 

which  always  inchides  thanksgiving,  as  an  essential 
part. 

3.  It  is  objected  that  prayer  cannot  possibly  have 
any  influence  in  obtaining  what  we  need  and  request 
from  God,  because  all  his  purposes  are  fixed  and  im- 
mutable.    This  is  the  most  formidable  and  specious 
objection;  yet  it  would  be  satisfactorily  answered,  if 
we  could  say  no  more  in  reply,  than  has  already  been 
said,  in  responding  to  the  first  objection;  namely,  that 
prayer  has  the   happiest  influence  in  preparing  our 
own  minds  for  the  reception  and  right  improvement 
of  the  divine  favours.  But  as  it  is  a  truth  abundantly 
taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  prayer  has  a  direct 
influence  in  obtaining  the  blessings  for  which  we  pray, 
so  I  am  satisfied,  that  it  can  never  be  shown  how  this 
is  a  whit  more  inconsistent  with  reason,  than  to  be- 
Heve  in  the  influence  of  any  secondary  cause  what- 
r  ever,  in  producing  its  appropriate  eff'ect.     How  the 
immutable  purpose  of  God  consists  and  connects  itself 
with  the  result  of  diligence  or  negligence  in  the  use 
of  means,  is,  at  bottom,  beyond  our  powers  to  pene- 
trate and  explain.     This  has  been  shown  at  large,  in 
the  lecture  on  the  decrees  of  God.     We  only  know 
that  such  a  connexion  exists,  and  that  the  divine 
purpose  itself  always  (except  in  the  case  of  miracles) 
includes,  and  never  excludes,  the  use  or  neglect  of  the 
secondary  cause.     The  secondary  cause,  although  it 
may  consist  in  the  voluntary  choice  of  a  free  agent, 
is  as  much  the  subject  of  the  divine  purpose  or  decree, 
as  the  natural  and  necessary  eflfect  to  be  produced. 
Hence  it  is  manifest,  that  what  the  Scriptures  teach 
in  regard  to  the  direct  influence  of  prayer,  in  obtain- 
ing what  it  seeks  from  God,  is  just  as  reasonable,  and 
no  more  difficult  to  be  understood,  than  that  plough- 
ing and  sowing  should  have  an  immediate  and  indis- 
pensable influence  in  the  production  of  a  crop.     In 
both  cases,  the  divine  purpose  is  equally  certain,  and 
in  both  the  influence  of  means,  or  secondary  causes, 
is  precisely  the  same.     In  both  cases  too,  the  means 
are  the  objects  of  voluntary  choice  and  adoption,  and 
when  rightly  used,  the  divine  constitution  authorizes 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  417 

US  to  expect  a  favourable  result,  and  forbids  us  to 
expect  such  result,  when  the  proper  means  are  ne- 
glected. The  prayer  of  faith,  indeed,  is  more  certainly- 
connected  with  the  divine  favour,  than  the  labours 
of  the  husbandman  are  with  the  harvest  which  he 
hopes  for.  In  the  former  case,  the  blessing  never  fails; 
in  the  latter,  disappointment  sometimes  ensues. 

Having  now  replied,  I  hope  satisfactorily,  to  the 
objections  which  are  made  to  the  duty  of  prayer,  I 
shall  only  add  a  single  remark,  which  I  deem  of  con- 
siderable importance.  It  is,  that  prayer,  or  propitia- 
tory offerings,  have  been  made  to  superior  beings,  in 
all  nations  and  ages  of  the  world;  and  hence,  that  it 
may  seem  to  be  a  dictate  of  our  nature  itself  Yes, 
my  young  friends,  let  a  man  know  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  place  him  in  circumstances  of  extreme  ne- 
cessity, where  no  human  help  can  any  longer  avail, 
and  you  will  not  easily  prevent  his  praying.  The 
most  profligate  blasphemers,  and  even  professed  Athe- 
ists, have  exemplified  the  truth  of  this  remark. 

I  now  proceed  to  observe,  that  there  are  different 
kinds  of  prayer;  or  rather,  that  the  same  duty  is  per- 
formed in  different  modes  and  circumstances.  These 
have  commonly  been  divided  into  two  great  classes — 
public  and  private  prayer — I  would  rather  say,  social 
and  secret  prayer. 

Of  social  prayer  there  are  several  kinds.  1.  Pnblic 
worship,  in  which  a  pastor,  or  some  regularly  autho- 
rized preacher  of  the  gospel  officiates,  and  is  the  mouth 
of  the  people  to  God.  This  worship  is  a  part  of  the 
appropriate  service  of  every  Lord's  day,  where  the 
ordinances  of  the  gospel  are  enjoyed:  but  it  may  be 
celebrated  on  a  variety  of  other  occasions.  Thus, 
when  the  Apostle  Paul  had  addressed  the  Ephesian 
elders,  and  those  that  were  assembled  with  them  at 
Miletus,  as  recorded  in  the  20th  chapter  of  the  Acts, 
it  is  said  (v,  3G.)  "And  when  he  had  thus  spoken, 
he  kneeled  down  and  prayed  with  them  all."  Public 
prayer  is  always  used  in  administering  the  sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper;  for  the  blessing  of  the  elements 
of  bread  and  wine,  or  setting  them  apart  to  their  sa- 


418  LECTURES    ON    THE 

cred  use,  is  done  in  prayer.  It  was  no  doubt  with 
reference  to  tlie  public  devotions  of  the  sanctuary, 
that  the  Psalmist  said,  "  God  is  greatly  to  be  feared 
in  the  assembly  of  the  saints,  and  to  be  had  in  rever- 
ence of  all  them  that  are  about  him." 

2.  Social  prayer  is  offered  up  by  devout  Christians, 
when  they  meet  together,  in  a  manner  less  public  and 
formal  than  ordinarily  talies  place  in  the  house  of 
God,  or  when  the  whole  service  is  conducted  by  one 
or  more  ministers  of  the  gospel.  This  kind  of  prayer 
is  clearly  countenanced  and  greatly  encouraged,  by 
our  blessed  Saviour.  He  makes  a  special  promise  to 
social  prayer,  when  it  is  made  by  the  smallest  number 
that  can  form  a  union,  or  agreement  for  the  purpose. 
His  words  are  remarkable — "  I  say  unto  you  that  if 
two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth,  as  touching  any 
thing  that  they  shall  ask,  it  sliall  be  done  for  them  of 
my  Father  which  is  in  heaven:  for  where  two  or 
three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I 
in  the  midst  of  them."  What  a  remarkable  example 
have  we  of  this  kind  of  prayer,  when  the  primitive 
Christians  employed  it,  and  found  an  immediate  an- 
swer, at  the  time  the  Apostle  Peter  was  sentenced  to 
death,  by  the  cruel  mandate  of  Herod.  See  Acts  xii. 
1—17. 

3.  Family  prayer  is  another  kind  of  social  devotion. 
It  is  an  awful  imprecation  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah, 
"  Pour  out  thy  fury  on  the  heathen  tliat  know  thee 
not,  and  on  the  families  that  call  noron  thy  name." 
The  morning  and  the  evening  sacrifice,  under  the  an- 
cient Jewish  dispensation,  appears  to  have  been  in- 
tended to  intimate  the  duty  of  a  daily  and  repeated 
acknowledgment  of  God,  in  our  social  character. 
Christ  our  Saviour,  not  only  taught  his  disciples  to 
pray,  but  he  prayed  with  them — with  Peter  and  James 
and  John,  on  the  mount  of  transfiguration,  and  with 
the  whole  of  the  holy  family,  in  his  wonderful  inter- 
cessory prayer.  It  is  the  unquestionable  and  indis- 
pensable duty  of  every  head  of  a  family,  to  see  that 
in  ordinary  circumstances,  no  day  be  permitted  to 
pass  without  family  prayer. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  419 

Secret  prayer  is  of  two  kinds — 

1.  Closet  prayer,  in  which  an  individual  retires  and 
secludes  himself  from  all  company,  and  pours  out  his 
heart  before  God,  in  the  fullest  and  freest  manner. 
This  is  expressly  enjoined  by  our  Saviour,  and  most 
impressively  recommended  by  his  own  example.  His 
injunction  is,  "  When  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy 
closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy 
Father  which  is  in  secret,  and  thy  Father  which  seeth 
in  secret,  shall  reward  thee  openly."  In  more  in- 
stances than  one,  it  is  recorded  that  our  Redeemer 
sought  retirement  for  secret  prayer,  and  once  that  he 
passed  the  whole  night  in  this  holy  exercise.  In  his 
agony  also,  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  he  with- 
drew even  from  his  most  favoured  disciples,  while 
thrice  he  prayed  that  if  it  were  possible,  the  awful 
cup  of  suflerings  might  pass  from  him,  and  as  often 
sweetly  submitted  the  pleadings  of  his  holy  soul,  to 
the  will  of  his  heavenly  Father.  It  is  in  this  kind  of 
prayer,  my  dear  youth,  that  all  the  people  of  God 
have  their  principal  communion  with  the  Father  of 
their  spirits;  and  the  degree  of  any  Christian's  sancti- 
fication,  may  generally  be  measured  by  the  frequency 
and  fervour  of  his  secret  prayers,  and  the  delight 
which  he  finds  in  his  retirement,  in  pouring  out  his 
soul  into  the  bosom  of  God  his  Saviour.   All  the  emi- 

I  nent  Scripture  saints  were  distinguished  by  their  de- 
'  voutness;  and  no  man  can  be  eminent  in  piety,  who 

is  not  characteristically  a  man  of  prayer — of  much 

secret  prayer. 

2.  Ejaculatory  prayer,  which,  says  Fisher,  "is  a 
secret  and  sudden  lifting  up  of  the  soul's  desires  to 
God,  upon  any  emergency  that  may  occur  in  provi- 
dence— either  by  a  simple  thought,  darted  up  to  hea- 
ven, as  it  would  seem  Nehemiah  did,  chap.  ii.  4;  or 
by  words  uttered  in  the  mind,  yet  so  as  that  the  voice 
cannot  be  heard,  as  we  read  Hannah  did.  1  Sam.  i. 
13.  These  ejaculatory  breathings  of  the  soul  have 
met  with  very  quick  and  happy  returns,  as  in  the 
instance  of  Moses,  who  in  the  midst  of  the  people's 
murmurings  at  the  Red  Sea,  despatched  his  desires  to 


420  LECTURES     ON      THE 

heaven  in  some  short  ejaculations,  to  which  the  Lord 
gave  a  present  answer:  Exod,  xiv.  15.  "  Wherefore 
criest  thou  unto  me?  Speak  unto  the  children  of  Is- 
rael that  they  go  forward."  Ejaculatory  prayer  tends 
to  maintain  fellowship  with  God,  without  any  inter- 
ruption of  our  lawful  callings.  It  is  also  a  mean  to 
repel  sudden  temptation;  and  dispose  the  heart  for  a 
more  solemn  performance  of  the  stated  duties  of  prayer 
and  praise,  in  the  season  of  them."  Those  who  en- 
deavour "  to  walk  with  God,"  as  Enoch  did,  will  be 
much  in  the  practice  of  ejaculatory  prayer. 

Let  me,  in  closing  this  lecture,  recommend  to  you, 
as  you  may  have  opportunity,  the  careful  perusal  of 
Dr.  Watts'  treatise,  entitled — "A  Guide  to  Prayer;" 
in  which  he  treats  excellently  of"  the  gift,  grace,  and 
spirit  of  prayer,  with  plain  directions  how  every 
Christian  may  obtain  them." 


SHOKTER    CATECHISM.  421 


LECTURE   LXXIII. 


The  accuracy  of  expression  or  definition,  which  is 
apparent  in  every  part  of  our  Catechism,  is  very  ob- 
servable in  the  answer  now  under  consideration. 
Prayer  is  said  to  be  "  the  offering  up  of  our  desires  to 
God  for  things  agreeable  to  his  will."  Desire  is  here 
represented  as  being  an  essential  attribute  of  every 
address  to  God,  which  can  claim  to  be  regarded  as 
prayer.  Let  the  language  made  use  of  be  in  itself 
ever  so  proper,  or  ever  so  impressive,  if  it  be  not  the 
expression  of  real  desire  in  him  who  uses  it,  nothing 
which  the  Great  Hearer  of  prayer  will  regard  with 
approbation,  is  offered  by  the  apparent  worshipper. 
And  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  desires  of  the  heart 
truly  and  earnestly  go  forth  unto  God,  it  is  acceptable 
prayer  with  him;  although  not  a  single  word  be  ut- 
tered, or  although  the  words  employed  be  not  in  them- 
selves the  correct  expression  of  the  desires.  "  The 
Lord  heareth  the  desires  of  the  humble,"  says  the 
Psalmist:  and  the  apostle  Paul  instructs  us,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  makes  intercession  in  the  hearts  of  the 
children  of  God  "  with  groanings  which  cannot  be  ut- 
teredJ^  Be  ever  mindful,  then,  my  dear  youth,  of 
these  two  things — first,  that  in  prayer  you  always 
stand  as  parties  with  God,  whom  you  immediately 
address,  and  with  whose  presence  and  glorious  ma- 
jesty you  should  be  deeply  impressed;  and  secondly, 
that  the  sincerest  desires  of  your  soul  must  accompany 
the  language  you  use,  if  you  expect  audience  and  ac- 
ceptance with  Him. 

In  the  anti-christian  church  of  Rome,  they  offer 
prayers  to  saints  and  angels,  as  well  as  to  God.  But 
in  my  lectures  on  the  first  and  second  precepts  of  the 
Decalogue,*  I  have  shown  that  this  whole  practice, 

*  See  Lectures  39  and  40. 


422  LECTURES    ON    THE 

as  well  as  the  use  of  images,  or  sensible  representa- 
tions of  the  Deity,  or  of  any  of  his  creatures,  in  re- 
ligious worship,  is  pointedly  forbidden  in  those  pre- 
cepts, as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  revealed  will  of 
God.  I  need  therefore  only  recommend  what  is  there 
said  on  these  topics  to  your  careful  attention;  and  add 
on  the  point  before  us,  the  answer  given  in  our  Larger 
Catechism  to  the  question — "  Are  we  to  pray  to  God 
only?  A.  God  only  being  able  to  search  the  heart, 
hear  the  request,  pardon  the  sins,  and  fulfil  the  desires 
of  all;  and  only  to  be  believed  in  and  worshipped 
with  religious  worship:  prayer,  which  is  a  special 
part  thereof,  is  to  be  made  to  him  alone,  and  to  none 
other" — Each  person  of  the  adorable  Trinity,  being 
truly  divine,  may  occasionally  be  directly  and  spe- 
cially addressed  in  prayer;  but  in  general,  our  direct 
address  is  to  the  Father,  through  the  Son,  by  the  aid 
of  the  Spirit. 

As  we  are  to  desire  of  God  in  prayer  such  things 
only  as  "are  agreeable  to  his  will,"  it  is  of  great  im- 
portance to  ascertain  what  things  are  agreeable  to  his 
will.  Here  our  guide  must  be  the  revelation  of  that 
will,  as  contained  in  the  Holy  Scriptures;  and  to  this 
we  must  be  careful  to  adhere,  both  with  respect  to  the 
matter  and  manner  of  our  desires  and  petitions.  The 
matter  or  subject  of  prayer,  is  in  general,  whatsoever 
is  calculated  to  promote,  or  is  consistent  with,  the 
glory  of  God  and  our  own  greatest  good;  and  famili- 
arity with  the  divine  word  can  alone  give  us  a  clear 
discernment  of  both  these  objects.  That  word  will 
teach  us,  that  there  are  some  things  which  we  may 
and  ought  to  desire  and  ask  for  absolutely,  or  without 
any  qualification;  and  that  there  are  other  things, 
that  we  must  petition  for  only  conditionally ;  that  is, 
if  infinite  wisdom  see  that  what  we  ask  is  proper  in 
itself,  and  if  granted  will  really  promote  our  best  and 
most  enduring  interests.  Thus,  for  example,  we  know 
that  we  may  pray  absolutely  that  God's  name  may 
be  hallowed,  or  liis  declarative  glory  be  promoted; 
that  his  kingdom  may  come,  and  his  will  be  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  heaven;  and  for  ourselves,  that  God 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  423 

would  forgive  us  our  debts  as  we  forgive  our  debtors; 
and  not  abandon  us  to  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from 
all  evil — plainly  implying  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  on 
the  terms  of  the  gospel  covenant,  and  our  being  pre- 
served from  falling  irrecoverably  before  temptation, 
and  into  final  perdition.  Yet  even  in  regard  to  these 
subjects  of  prayer,  the  time,  and  the  means,  and  the 
manner,  in  which  our  requests  shall  be  granted,  are 
all  to  be  prayed  for  conditionally.  We  may,  for  in- 
stance, pray  that  certain  missionary  operations  may 
be  eminently  blessed  for  the  promotion  of  God's  de- 
clarative glory  and  the  extension  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom;  but  this  must  be  done  with  an  express 
submission  to  the  will  of  God.  Possibly  he  may  not 
see  it  best  to  prosper  and  bless  the  particular  mission 
contemplated,  but  to  make  use  of  some  other,  or  of 
some  means  which  we  do  not  think  of,  to  effect  the 
good  for  which  our  prayer  has  been  offered.  In  like 
manner,  the  way,  and  means,  and  time,  in  which  we 
shall  obtain  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins,  and  a  final  de- 
liverance from  all  their  fearful  consequences,  must  not 
be  prescribed  by  us.  We  may  indeed  earnestly  and 
repeatedly  pray  with  David,  "  ^lake  haste  to  help  me, 
0  Lord,  my  salvation;"  or  with  our  Redeemer  him- 
self, importunately  cry  that  a  bitter  cup  may  pass 
away  from  us;  but  with  him  we  ought,  in  all  such 
cases,  to  feel  and  express  an  entire  submission  to  the 
will  of  our  heavenly  Father.  We  should  remember 
that  the  promises  of  God  are  to  be  at  once  our  guide, 
and  the  ground  of  our  petitions  and  pleadings,  in 
prayer.  We  ought  therefore  to  study  the  promises 
very  carefully;  for  in  the  true  and  real  sense  in  which 
a  promise  is  made  in  the  oracles  of  infallible  truth,  it 
will,  if  we  plead  it  in  faith,  be  always  fulfilled ;  but  if 
we  mistake  the  nature  of  the  promise,  it  will  not  be 
answered,  and  the  disappointment  may  prove  a  griev- 
ous discouragement  and  stumbling  block  to  us.*  This 

*  Unhappy  consequences  have  sometimes  followed  from  not  distin- 
guishing the  promises  whicli  were  made  to  the  faith  of  miracles,  from 
those  which  the  possessors  of  saving  faitli  (for  the  faith  of  miracles 
was  not  always  saving)  may  plead  in  every  age  of  the  church.     We 


424  LECTURES     ON     THE 

is  a  very  important  practical  subject,  and  I  hope  the 
few  hints  I  have  now  offered  may  lead  you  to  study 
it,  and  understand  it  aright.  I  shall  only  add,  that 
genuine  prayer,  or  what  is  sometimes  called  the  prayer 
of  faith,  will  never  be  without  benefit  to  those  who 
offer  it.  Let  the  nature  of  the  promises  be  truly  ap- 
prehended, and  petitions  grounded  on  them  be  per- 
severingly  sent  up  to  God,  believing— ox  in  faith— 
that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  the  rewarder  of  them  that 
diligently  seek  him,"  and  then  assuredly  the  petition- 
er will  have  the  thing  which  he  asks,  if  God  sees  that 
it  will  be  best  for  him;  and  if  it  is  seen  that  the  best 
interest  of  the  petitioner  would  not  be  promoted  by 
granting  the  specific  thing  prayed  for,  God  will  either 
give  him  something  better  in  its  place,  or  so  sanctify 
a  total  refusal,  as  to  render  that  a  greater  blessing 
than  the  granting  of  the  special  request.  It  appears 
that  the  apostle  Paul  never  obtained  the  removal  of 
the  thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  messenger  of  Satan  sent  to 
buffet  him,  and  for  a  deliverance  from  which  he  "be- 
sought the  Lord  thrice;"  but  he  got  the  promise — 
"  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,  my  strength  is  made 
perfect  in  weakness;"  and  this  was  better  for  him, 
and  so  he  was  fully  convinced,  than  if  he  iiad  obtain- 
ed exactly  what  he  had  thrice  prayed  for — "  Most 
gladly,  says  he,  will  I  rather  glory  in  my  infirmities, 
that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me."  Surely, 
my  dear  youth,  it  can  require  no  laboured  argument, 
to  prove  that  it  is  an  unspeakable  privilege  to  have 
infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  to  choose  for  us,  rather 
than  to  be  left  to  our  own  erring  understanding  or 
misguided  passions,  to  choose  for  ourselves.  Even  a 
heathen  poet  (Juvenal  in  his  tenth  Satire)  has  shown 
most  impressively,  that  God  may  and  frequently  does, 
chastise  men  in  the  most  fearful  manner  by  granting 
their  requests,  and  eminently  favour  and  bless  them 

believe  that  miracles  have  longf  since  ceased,  and  therefore  that  such 
passages  of  Scripture  as  Matt.  xvii.  20,  and  x\i.  21.  Mark  xi.  23. 
Luke  xvii.  6.  1  Cor  xii.  9,  and  xiii.  2,  must,  when  taken  in  their 
literal  sense,  be  applicable  onlj?  to  those  who  lived  in  the  primitive 
age  of  the  church. 


SHORTER      CA  T  E  C  H I S  M  .  425 

by  sometimes  disappointing  their  fondest  wishes  and 
earnest  entreaties. 

I  have  ah'eady  mentioned  incidentally,  that  the 
time  for  granting  the  requests  which  we  proffer  to 
God  in  prayer,  must  be  submitted  entirely  to  his  will. 
But  this  is  a  point  that  deserves  some  particular  at- 
tention. The  Father  of  mercies  may  delay  to  answer 
our  petitions — may  delay  long,  nay,  even  seem  for  a 
time  to  repulse  us;  and  yet  this,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Syrophoenician  woman  who  came  to  our  Saviour, 
may  be  only  intended  to  try  our  faith,  to  put  our  per- 
severance to  the  test,  and  to  render  the  rich  and  abun- 
dant blessing  which  shall  ultimately  be  conferred,  the 
more  delightful  and  precious.  Christ  spoke  a  parable 
to  this  end,  "  that  men  ought  always  to  pray  and  not 
to  faint."  And  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  we  are 
admonished,  that  "  we  have  need  of  patience,  after 
that  we  have  done  the  will  of  God,  that  we  may  re- 
ceive the  promise." 

The  next  clause  in  the  answer  under  consideration 
tells  us,  that  our  desires  are  to  be  offered  up  to  God 
"in  the  name  of  Christ."  Our  blessed  Lord  said  to 
his  disciples,  "  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father 
in  my  name,  he  will  give  it  you."  And  again,  speak- 
ing of  what  should  take  place  after  his  resurrection 
and  ascension,  he  says,  "  at  that  day  ye  shall  ask  the 
Father  in  my  name."  And  still  more  explicitly  and 
fully  he  declared,  "  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and 
the  life;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me." 
The  truth  is,  that  but  for  the  intercession  of  Christ, 
there  would  be  no  access  for  sinners  to  a  holy  and 
sin-hating  God;  and  to  the  exercised  believer  no  pas- 
sages in  the  sacred  volume  are  more  precious  than 
those  which  speak  of  the  priestly  office  of  Christ,  an 
essential  part  of  which  consists  in  his  being  the  inter- 
cessor and  advocate  of  his  people,  before  the  throne 
of  God  on  high.  Every  prayer  that  we  uttef,  my 
beloved  youth,  ought  to  be  put,  as  it  were,  into  the 
hand  of  Christ,  that  he  may  present  it  with  acceptance 
before  the  mercy  seat  in  the  upper  sanctuary.  There 
are  no  arguments  or  pleadings  that  we  can  use  in 

VOL.  II. — 28 


426  LECTURES     ON    THE 

prayer  comparable  to  those  which  we  derive  from 
what  Christ  has  done  for  sinners,  and  the  encourage- 
ment he  has  given,  even  to  the  chief  of  them,  to  plead 
his  merits,  and  to  ask  in  his  name.  Indeed,  without 
these,  as  already  intimated,  nothing  else  would  be  of 
any  avail.  I  mention  it  with  grief;  that  we  some- 
times hear  prayers,  or  rather  what  are  called  such,  in 
which  the  mediation  and  intercession  of  Christ  are 
scarcely  mentioned,  or  alluded  to  at  all;  or  if  it  be,  it 
is  done  in  a  very  cursory  and  formal  manner.  It 
seems  to  me,  that  a  distinct  recognition  that  we  come 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  hope  to  be  heard  and  an- 
swered only  for  his  sake,  should  be  among  the  very 
first  things  that  we  say,  or  think  of,  when  we  attempt 
to  pray;  and  I  am  sure  that  the  more  our  minds  are 
affected  through  the  whole  of  our  prayers,  with  the  re- 
collection that  our  petitions  and  praises  go  up  through 
him  who  is  "our  advocate  with  the  Father,"  and 
whom  "  the  Father  heareth  always,"  the  more  sweet 
and  delightful,  and  animating,  will  be  our  whole  per- 
formance of  the  sacred  duty  which  we  have  now  in 
view. 

Nor  must  it  be  overlooked,  that  without  the  aid 
and  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  can  never  pray 
in  a  right  manner.  "  The  Spirit,  says  the  apostle, 
helpeth  our  infirmities;  for  we  know  not  what  we 
should  pray  for  as  we  ought;  but  the  Spirit  makelh 
intercession  for  us,  with  groanings  that  cannot  be  ut- 
tered. And  he  that  searcheth  the  hearts  knoweth 
what  is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  because  he  maketh 
intercession  for  the  saints  according  to  the  will  of 
God."  This  blessed  agent  is  represented  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  as  "  the  Spirit  of  grace  and  supplications," 
and  is  promised  to  be  "poured  out"  for  this  purpose. 
It  is  therefore  well  said  in  our  Larger  Catechism,  that 
"  the  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmities,  by  enabling  us  to 
understand  both  for  whom,  and  what,  and  how  prayer 
is  to  be  made,  and  by  working  and  quickening  in  our 
■hearts  (although  not  in  all  persons,  nor  at  all  times  in 
the  same  measure)  those  apprehensions,  aff'ections, 
and  graces,  which  are  requisite  for  the  right  perform- 
ance of  the  duty." 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  427 

Corifession  of  Sin  is  another  iinportant  part  of 
prayer.  In  standing  as  parties  with  God,  it  is  indis- 
pensable that  we  slioLild  distinctly  recognize  onr  true 
character:  and  as  we  are  sinners,  the  full  and  free 
admission  and  confession  of  this  humiliating  fact, 
should  make  a  part  of  all  our  prayers.  It  is  this  fact 
which  renders  the  intervention  and  intercession  of  a 
Mediator  necessary,  in  order  to  our  addressing  the 
Majesty  of  heaven  with  the  hope  of  acceptance;  for 
the  holy  angels  do  not  need  a  mediator  between  them 
and  their  Creator,  nor  would  man  have  needed  one, 
if  he  had  retained  his  primitive  state  of  perfect  recti- 
tude. The  obtaining  of  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  is, 
moreover,  a  leading  and  essential  part  of  the  errand 
on  which  we  go  to  the  throne  of  mercy;  and  in  the  na- 
ture of  the  case,  as  well  as  in  the  prescribed  condition 
of  our  offended  Maker  and  Judge,  confession  of  our 
guilt  must  precede  pardon,  for  guilt  and  pardon  are 
correlative  terms.  Hence  the  declaration  that  "  He 
that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper,  but  whoso 
confesseth  and  forsaketh  them,  shall  have  mercy;" 
and  again,  "  If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and 
just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all 
unrighteousness." 

There  is  little  danger,  my  young  friends,  of  our  re- 
presenting ourselves  more  guilty  before  God  than  we 
really  are;  although  those  who  have  never  had  any 
right  conception,  either  of  his  holiness  or  of  their  own 
vileness,  have  often  taken  offence  at  the  strong  ex- 
pressions of  r,  sense  of  guilt  and  criminality,  which 
they  have  heard  in  the  prayers  of  pious  Christian^. 
The  truth  is,  the  greatness  and  malignity  of  our  moral 
pollution  exceeds  all  the  conceptions  that  we  can  form 
of  it,  and  this  ought  to  be  acknowledged  in  our  prayers, 
with  unfeigned  grief  and  contrition;  and  should  serve 
to  endear  to  us,  in  an  unspeakable  degree,  that  precious 
Redeemer,  by  the  infinite  elTjcacy  of  whose  atoning 
blood  our  sins  are  expiated,  and  our  souls  cleansed 
from  their  guilt.  In  our  private  prayers,  we  should 
specially  confess  and  bewail  those  sins  of  our  hearts 
and  our  lives  which  may  be  known  only  to  God  and 


428  LECTURES     ON     THE 

to  ourselves;  but  sins  of  this  description  ought  net  to 
be  specified  in  social  prayer,  although  the  general  ac- 
knowledgment of  our  unspeakable  moral  vileness  and 
ill  desert  in  the  sight  of  Him  before  whom  the  heavens 
are  unclean,  may  be  made  in  the  most  public  manner, 
and  with  the  greatest  propriety. 

Ji  thankful  acknowledgment  of  the  mercies  of  God, 
is  the  last  constituent  part  of  prayer,  which  is  men- 
tioned in  the  answer  of  our  Catechism,  now  under 
consideration.  Thanksgiving  and  prayer  are  expressly 
connected  together  by  the  Psalmist.  (Psalm  cxvi.  17,) 
"  I  will  offer  to  thee  the  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving,  and 
will  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord."  Thanksgiving 
is  indeed  both  an  essential  and  a  delightful  part  of 
this  sacred  duty;  and  I  am  persuaded  it  ought  to  con- 
stitute a  larger  part  of  prayer  than  it  too  often  does. 
Nor  is  there  any  part  in  which  we  should  be  more 
careful  than  in  this,  to  guard  against  formality  and 
mere  lip-service.  Our  thanksgiving  ought  to  be  the 
genuine  expression  of  cordial  gratitude  to  the  Great 
Bestovver  of  all  good,  for  his  numerous  and  undeserved 
favours.  These  favours  are,  with  the  utmost  propriety, 
denominated  mercies,  in  the  answer  before  us,  and 
ought  to  be  seen  and  felt  to  be  such,  in  our  acknow- 
ledgment of  them.  By  our  sins  we  have  forfeited  all 
good  at  the  hands  of  God,  and  must  therefore  receive 
it  as  a  matter  of  pure  mercy.  The  greatest  of  all 
mercies,  and  that  through  which  all  others  are  be- 
stowed, is  God's  unspeakable  gift  of  his  Son  to  be  our 
Saviour.  With  him,  it  is  that  "  he  freely  giveth  all 
things"  to  his  believing  people — his  Spirit  to  be  their 
monitor,  comforter,  and  sanctifier;  the  revelation  of 
his  will  to  instruct  them  in  duty,  to  direct  and  cheer 
them  in  their  earthly  pilgrimage,  and  to  conduct  them 
to  their  heavenly  rest.  Our  spiritual  mercies  of  every 
kind,  should  be  the  theme  of  our  frequent  and  heart- 
felt thanksgiving  to  God,  and  ought  to  have,  in  our 
esteem  and  in  our  prayers,  the  preference  to  all  others. 
Yet  the  common  bounties  and  protection  of  the  good 
providence  of  God,  and  particularly  all  special  deli- 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  429 

verances  and  favours,  ought  not  to  be  overlooked,  but 
to  share  in  our  sincere  and  devout  thanksgiving. 

Three  parts  of  prayer  only  are  mentioned  in  the 
answer  before  us — petition,  confession,  and  thanks- 
giving. Strictly  speaking,  it  is  only  the  first  of  these, 
that  can  be  denominated  prayer.  Yet  the  duty,  as 
taught  by  Scripture  examples,  contains  not  only  the 
three  that  have  been  mentioned,  but  also  invocation, 
in  which  we  call  on  God  by  some  of  the  names  by 
which  he  is  made  known  to  us  in  his  word;  adora- 
tion, in  which  some  of  his  glorious  attributes  are 
brought  into  view,  as  objects  of  the  deepest  reverence; 
blessing,  in  which  we  express  our  sense  of  his  good- 
ness and  kindness;  intercession,  in  which  we  pray 
for  others;  but  this  indeed  is  only  a  particular  subject 
of  petition — Prayer  is  commonly  and  properly  con- 
cluded, either  by  a  doxology  to  the  Three  one  God, 
or  by  a  recognition  that  we  ask  all  in  the  name  and  for 
the  sake  alone  of  Christ,  our  Redemeer  and  Mediator. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  lecture,  my  young  friends, 
without  inculcating  the  importance  of  your  endeavour- 
ing earnestly  to  guard  against  the  wandering  of  the 
mind  in  prayer.  It  is  an  act  of  infinite  condescension 
in  the  great  and  glorious  God,  that  he  permits  such 
worms  of  the  dust  as  we  are  to  approach  him,  and  to 
address  him  by  the  endearing  appellation  of  Father. 
We  never  can  duly  estimate  this  privilege;  and  wiien- 
ever  we  avail  ourselves  of  it,  our  whole  souls  ought 
to  be  engaged  to  improve  it  aright.  It  is  not  prayer, 
but  awful  profaneness,  when  we  address  words  to 
God,  while  our  minds  are  wandering  after  worldly 
vanities.  It  is  indeed  difficult,  in  all  circumstances, 
to  keep  our  minds  duly  intent  and  suitably  devout  in 
this  sacred  duty.  But  we  ought  to  use  all  proper 
means,  and  put  forth  our  best  eftbrts,  and  make  it  the 
subject  of  many  and  earnest  petitions  to  God,  that  he 
would  enable  us  to  worship  him  with  an  undivided 
mind,  and  a  truly  devotional  spirit;  for  God  is  a  spi- 
rit, and  they  that  worship  him  must  do  it  in  spirit  and 
in  truth,  if  they  would  hope  for  a  favourable  audience 
and  a  gracious  answer  to  their  supplications. 


430 


LECTURES     ON    TUE 


LECTURE  LXXIV. 


On  the  rule  which  God  has  given  for  our  direction  in 
prayer,  our  Catechism  teaches  us,  "  Tliat  the  whole 
word  of  God  is  of  use  to  direct  us  in  prayer;  but  the 
special  rule  of  direction,  is  that  form  of  prayer  which 
Christ  taught  his  disciples,  commonly  called  the  Lord's 
prayer. 

It  has  heretofore  been  shown,  in  answering  the 
objections  which  are  made  to  the  duty  of  prayer,  that 
it  is  a  dictate  of  natural  feeling  to  cry  to  God  for  help, 
in  circumstances  of  extreme,  and  otherwise  hopeless 
distress.  Yet  it  is  equally  true,  as  was  shown  in  our 
last  lecture,  that  we  know  not  how  to  pray,  nor  what 
to  pray  for,  except  as  we  are  taught  by  the  Spirit  of 
God.  Now  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  Spirit  teaches 
us  what  to  pray  for,  in  the  word  which  he  has  indited; 
and  how  to  pray,  both  by  his  word,  and  by  his  motions 
in  our  own  minds.  In  every  part  of  the  sacred  ora- 
cles, we  may  find  something  that  is  useful,  for  our 
direction  in  our  addresses  to  the  Great  Hearer  of 
prayer.  It  is  by  the  revealed  will  of  God  that  his 
nature  and  attributes  are  most  fully  and  clearly  made 
known.  Here  we  learn  that  it  is  at  once  our  privilege 
and  our  duty  to  draw  nigh  to  him,  and  pour  out  our 
hearts  before  him;  that  it  is  not  a  vain  thing  to  pray, 
but  that  the  fervent  and  effectual  prayer  of  the  right- 
eous man  availeth  much;  that  the  way  of  access  to 
the  throne  of  grace  is  through  a  Mediator,  and  by  the 
aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  that  we  have  an  assurance 
that  whosoever  cometh  unto  Him,  in  this  new  and 
living  way,  he  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.  In  the  word 
of  God  also,  we  have  the  record  of  prayers  which 
have  been  offered  up  by  saints  of  old,  and  of  the 
gracious  answers  which  they  have  obtained,  and  by 
this  are  encouraged  to  the  performance  of  the  duty. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  431 

as  well  as  by  the  promises  which  are  made  to  those 
who  pray  in  faith.  The  promises  of  the  divine  word, 
indeed,  contain  the  very  matter  of  prayer;  they  furnish 
ns  with  the  pleas  and  arguments,  so  to  speak,  which 
we  should  make  use  of  in  our  devout  supplications. 
Here  too  we  are  taught  what  is  the  use  which  we  are 
to  make  of  the  offices  of  Christ  in  the  performance  of 
this  duty;  and  how  we  may  avail  ourselves  of  the 
great  doctrines  and  leading  truths  of  God's  revealed 
will,  so  as  to  pray  ii'iderstandingly  both  for  ourselves 
and  for  others,  and  especially  for  the  church,  and  the 
prosperity  and  extension  of  the  Redeemer's  cause  and 
kingdom.  In  short,  there  is  scarcely  any  part  of  the 
divine  word  from  which  the  careful  and  serious  reader 
of  it  may  not  gather  materials  for  prayer — for  con- 
fession of  sin,  pleading  for  pardon,  and  thanksgiving 
for  mercies  received.  The  very  sins  which  we  read 
of  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  judgments  which 
have  been  inflicted  on  those  who  committed  them, 
may  and  ought  to  serve  as  powerful  motives,  urging 
us  to  pray  that  we  may  be  preserved  both  from  the 
guilt  and  the  punishment  of  those  whose  transgres- 
sions have  been  recorded — recorded  for  the  very  pur- 
pose that  they  might  serve  as  warnings  to  others, 
even  to  the  end  of  time.  No  individual  will  excel  in 
the  gift  of  prayer,  who  is  not  familiar  with  the  con- 
tents of  his  Bible. 

"  But  the  special  rule  of  direction — says  the  Cate- 
chism— is  that  form  of  prayer  which  Christ  taught  his 
disciples,  commonly  called  the  Lord's  prayer."  A 
question  has  been  raised,  whether  this  can  with  pro- 
priety be  called  a  form  of  prayer.  When  our  Saviour 
dictated  it  to  his  disciples,  he  said,  "  after  this  manner 
pray  ye,"  and  hence  those  who  most  earnestly  oppose 
forms  of  prayer  have  said,  that  this  ought  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  pattern  of  prayer,  suggesting  only  the 
matter  of  our  supplications;  rather  than  a  form,  m 
which  the  very  words  we  are  to  use  must  be  consi- 
dered as  prescribed:  and  they  remark,  in  support  of 
their  opinion,  that  our  Lord's  prayer  is  actually  given 
with  some  variation  of  the  language,  by  the  two  evan- 


432  LECTURES     ON     THE 

gelists,  Matthew  and  Lnke,  by  whom  we  find  it  re- 
corded. An  objection  has  also  been  made  to  its  being 
called  "a  special  xn\e  of  direction;  inasmuch  as  two 
important  parts  of  prayer,  thanksgiving  and  the  con- 
fession of  sin,  are  not  found  in  it  with  any  distinctness 
of  expression,  and  especially  because  it  does  not  teach 
us  to  ask  in  the  name  of  Christ,  which  our  Saviour 
afterwards  informed  his  disciples  they  were  always 
to  do.  But  these  objections,  although  somewhat  spe- 
cious, do  not  seem  to  be  valid.  The  distinction  be- 
tween a  pattern  and  a  form,  as  applicable  to  the  point 
before  us,  is  scarcely  more  than  verbal.  We  some- 
times and  properly,  speak  of  a  form,  when  we  do  not 
mean,  nor  are  understood  to  mean,  that  there  must 
be  an  exact  resemblance  of  it,  in  every  thing  to  which 
it  is  to  serve  as  an  exemplar;  a  general  conformity, 
and  not  a  precise  likeness,  is  all  that  is  intended. 
Nor  does  a  special  rule  of  direction  imply  that  there 
may  not  be  other  rules,  which  require  to  be  carefully 
regarded — it  may  be  indispensable,  and  yet  not  ex- 
clusive. As  to  the  parts  of  prayer,  we  shall  find  in 
the  sequel  that  they  are  virtually  included  in  this;  and 
as  to  asking  in  the  name  of  Christ,  it  was  not  proper, 
in  the  beginning  of  our  Lord's  ministry  on  earth, 
when  this  prayer  was  dictated,  that  it  should  be  ex- 
plicitly mentioned.  It  was  just  before  his  crucifixion, 
as  we  learn  from  the  evangelist  John,  that  he  said 
to  his  disciples,  speaking  of  what  should  take  place 
after  his  resurrection  and  glorification,  '•  In  that  day 
ye  shall  ask  me  nothing:  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  my 
name,  he  will  give  it  you.  Hitherto  have  ye  asked 
nothing  in  my  name;  ask  and  ye  shall  receive,  that 
your  joy  may  be  full."  And  in  a  preceding  part 
of  the  same  address,  we  find  him  saying — "  I  am  the 
way,  the  truth,  and  the  life;  no  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father,  but  by  me.  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my 
name,  that  will  I  do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified 
in  the  Son.  If  ye  shall  ask  any  thing  in  my  name,  I 
will  do  it."  In  a  word,  the  reason  why  tliis  prayer 
is  called  a  form  and  a  special  rule,  and  the  manner  in 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  433 

which  we  ought  to  regard  it,  are  correctly,  though 
briefly  stated,  in  our  larger  Catechism — "  The  Lord's 
prayer  is  not  only  for  direction  as  a  pattern,  according 
to  which  we  are  to  make  other  prayers,  but  may  be 
also  used  as  a  prayer,  so  that  it  be  done  with  under- 
standing, faith,  reverence,  and  other  graces  necessary 
to  the  right  performance  of  the  duty  of  prayer."  The 
wonderful  comprehensiveness  of  this  incomparable 
form  of  address  to  God,  has  been  the  admiration  of  all 
who  have  closely  examined  it,  and  will  be  the  more 
apparent,  the  more  it  is  made  the  subject  of  investiga- 
tion and  meditation. 

This  is  the  proper  place  to  say  something,  (if  I  no- 
tice the  subject  at  all  in  these  lectures,)  on  the  proper 
use  of  forms  of  prayer  in  general.  You  are  aware 
that  in  the  church  to  which  we  belong,  forms  are 
never  employed  in  the  public  service  of  the  sanctuary. 
This  topic  has  been  productive  of  much  discussion 
and  controversy,  and  plausible  things  may  be  said, 
and  frequently  have  been  said,  on  both  sides  of  the 
litigated  question.  "  Those  who  are  advocates  for 
forms,  observe  that  they  prevent  absurd,  extravagant, 
or  impious  addresses  to  God,  as  well  as  the  confusion 
of  extemporary  prayer:  that  forms  were  used  under 
the  Old  Testament  dispensation;  and  in  proof  of  this, 
they  cite  Num.  vi.  24,  26,  and  x.  35,  36.  On  the 
other  side,  it  is  answered,  that  it  is  neither  reasonable 
nor  scriptural  to  look  for  the  pattern  of  Christian  wor- 
ship in  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  which,  with  all  its 
rites  and  ceremonies,  is  abrogated  and  done  away; 
that  though  forms  may  be  of  use  to  children,  and  such 
as  are  very  ignorant,  yet  restriction  to  forms,  either 
in  public  or  private,  does  not  seem  scriptural  or  law- 
ful. If  we  look  to  the  example  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles,  every  thing  is  in  favour  of  extemporary 
prayer.  The  Lord's  prayer,  it  is  observed,  was  not 
given  to  be  a  set  form,  exclusive  of  extemporary 
prayer.  It  is  further  argued,  that  a  form  cramps  the 
desires;  inverts  the  true  order  of  prayer,  making  our 
words  to  regulate  our  desires,  instead  of  our  desires 
regulating  our  words;  has  a  tendency  to  make  us 


434  LECTURES     ON     THE 

formal;  cannot  be  suited  to  every  one's  case;  that  it 
looks  as  if  we  were  not  in  reality  convinced  of  our 
wants,  when  we  want  a  form  to  express  them;  and 
finally,  in  answer  to  the  two  first  arguments,  that  it 
is  seldom  the  case  that  those  who  are  truly  sensible 
of  their  condition,  and  pray  extempore,  do  it  in  an 
impious  and  extravagant  manner;  and  if  any  who 
have  the  gift  of  prayer  really  do  so,  and  run  into  the 
extreme  of  enthusiasm,  yet  this  is  not  the  case  with 
the  generality,  since  an  unprejudiced  attention  to 
those  who  pray  extempore  must  convince  us,  that  if 
their  prayers  be  not  so  elegantly  composed  as  those 
of  a  set  form,  they  are  more  appropriate,  and  deliver- 
ed with  more  energy  and  feeling."* 

But  although  forms  be  rejected,  yet  those  who  lead 
in  social  prayer,  especially  in  the  public  worship  of 
God's  house,  may,  and  generally  ought,  to  observe  a 
method  in  their  prayers;  so  that  they  may  neither 
omit  any  important  part  of  public  devotion,  nor  pass 
backward  and  forward  from  one  part  to  another — 
mixing  the  whole  into  a  confused  mass,  unproductive 
of  any  distinct  impression,  and  inconsistent  indeed 
with  devotional  edification.  Some  unhappy  exam- 
ples of  this  sort  furnish  the  advocates  of  forms,  or  an 
established  liturgy,  with  their  most  plausible  objec- 
tions against  the  use  of  free  prayer.  To  prevent  this, 
those  who  are  to  lead  others  in  prayer  ought  to  make 
serious  business  of  endeavouring  to  qualify  them- 
selves for  this  most  important  service.  Do  they  pre- 
meditate, and  even  write  much,  that  they  may  be 
able  to  speak  to  their  fellow  men  in  an  acceptable  and 
edifying  manner,  and  can  they  think  of  speaking  to 
God,  without  reflecting  at  all  on  what  they  shall  say? 
It  is  admitted  that  in  secret  prayer,  language  and  me- 
thod are  of  less  importance;  but  in  social  prayer  our 
words  should  be  well  ordered.  It  is  a  gross  error  to 
imagine,  that  some  premeditation  and  preparation 
will  hinder  the  warmth  of  devotion,  or  the  expression 
of  the  thoughts  that  may  arise  in  the  mind  while 
uttering  our  prayer.  A  general  view  of  what  we 
*  Buck's  Theological  Dictionary. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  435 

propose  to  say  in  leading  the  devotions  of  others,  by- 
its  favourable  influence  on  self-possession,  will  help 
and  not  hinder  us,  in  the  proper  introduction  and  ex- 
pression of  extemporaneous  thought. 

In  acquiring  the  gift  of  prayer,  beside  a  familiar 
acquaintance  with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  cherishing 
a  devout  spirit  by  much  intercourse  with  God  in  se- 
cret, important  assistance  may  be  derived  from  read- 
ing those  forms  of  prayer  which  pious  and  discreet 
authors  have  penned  and  published,  suited  to  all  the 
circumstances  and  occasions  that  occur  in  life.  The 
committing  of  some  of  these  to  memory,  will  well 
reward  the  pains  of  doing  it.  This  should  especially 
be  done  by  those  heads  of  families  who  want  confi- 
dence to  lead  their  households  to  the  throne  of  grace, 
without  such  assistance.  Far  better  it  is,  in  my  opi- 
nion, devoutly  to  read  a  prayer  to  a  kneeling  family, 
than  to  omit  this  sacred  and  most  important  duty. 
But  in  private,  the  expression  of  our  own  thoughts 
in  our  own  words,  ought  never  to  be  omitted;  and  by 
a  familiarity  with  this  blessed  exercise,  few  inded  will 
fail  at  length  to  acquire  the  confidence  to  pray  before 
others,  without  great  embarrassment,  and  to  the  edi- 
fication of  all  who  unite  with  them  in  the  solemn 
service. 

The  Lord's  Prayer,  consists  of  a  preface,  or  intro- 
duction, six  petitions,  and  a  conclusion.  With  respect 
to  the  first  of  these,  our  Catechism  says — "The  pre- 
face of  the  Lord's  prayer  (which  is,  Our  Father 
which  art  in  heaven)  teacheth  us,  to  draw  near  to 
God  with  all  holy  reverence  and  confidence,  as  chil- 
dren to  a  Father,  able  and  ready  to  help  us;  and  that 
we  should  pray  with  and  for  others." 

Invocation  is  the  introductory  part  of  prayer,  and 
consists,  as  I  have  heretofore  had  occasion  to  observe, 
in  calling  on  God  by  some  of  the  names  by  which  he 
is  made  known  to  us  in  his  word.  In  the  form  of 
address  which  we  now  consider,  and  which  our  bless- 
ed Saviour  has  taught  us  to  use,  we  are  directed  to 
call  upon  God  under  the  endearing  appellation  of 
"  Our  Father  ivhich  art  in  heaven.''''     The  astonish- 


436  LECTURES     ON     THE 

ing  condescension  of  the  High  and  Holy  One  who  in- 
habiteth  eternity,  in  permitting  and  teaching  us  thus 
to  address  him,  is  indeed  beyond  all  expression  or 
conception.  This  we  ought  deeply  to  feel,  and  if  we 
do,  it  will  be  an  effectual  preservative  against  all  un- 
due familiarity  of  language;  and  yet  more  against  all 
levity  or  carelessness  of  spirit,  whenever  we  attempt 
the  dnty  of  prayer.  We  shall  recollect,  as  the  answer 
before  us  teaches, 

1.  That  in  prayer  we  "draw  near  to  God."  It  is 
indeed  true,  that  at  all  times  and  in  all  places  "  God  is 
not  far  from  every  one  of  us — We  can  no  where  go  from 
his  presence — In  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have 
our  being."  Yet,  as  in  regard  to  an  earthly  superior 
of  great  eminence  and  excellence,  we  feel  differently 
when  we  directly  speak  to  him  on  an  important  and 
interesting  concern,  from  what  we  do  when  we  are 
merely  in  his  presence,  without  any  purpose  of  ad- 
dressing him  personally;  so  in  regard  to  the  great 
Father  of  our  spirits,  although  a  sense  of  his  universal 
presence  ought  always  to  be  a  restraint  upon  us,  that 
we  allow  not  ourselves  in  any  thing  offensive  to  his 
pure  and  all-seing  eyes,  yet  in  immediately  address- 
ing him  we  ought  to  feel  the  impression  of  his  glori- 
ous Majesty,  beyond  what  we  habitually  experience. 
We  then  draw  near  for  the  express  purpose  of  making 
ourselves,  as  it  were,  a  party  with  him;  and  this  may 
well  fill  us, 

2.  "  With  all  holy  reverence."  Reverence,  or  ve- 
neration, is  a  mental  affection  composed  of  awe  and 
love — Let  us  for  a  moment  attend  to  the  first  of  these 
separately;  reserving  the  second  for  the  next  particu- 
lar, to  which  it  properly  belongs.  In  religious  awe,  a 
sacred  dread  or  fear  is  the  predominant  feeling.  Thus 
it  is  recorded  of  the  patriarch  at  Bethel — "Jacob 
awakened  out  of  his  sleep,  and  he  said.  Surely  the 
Lord  is  in  this  place  and  I  knew  it  not :  and  he  was 
afraid  and  said.  How  dreadful  is  this  place!  this  is 
none  other  but  the  house  of  God  and  the  gate  of  hea- 
ven." The  same  sacred  dread  we  discover  in  the 
language  of  the  Father  of  the  faithful,  when  pleading 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  437 

that  the  guilty  city  of  Socloin  might  be  spared — "And 
Abraham  answered  and  said,  Behold  now  I  have 
taken  upon  me  to  speak  unto  the  Lord,  which  am  but 
dust  and  ashes,"  And  again,  "  Oh  let  not  the  Lord 
be  angry,  and  I  will  speak."  And  finally,  "Oh  let 
not  the  Lord  be  angry,  and  I  will  speak  yet  but  this 
once."  This  holy  fear  is  always  accompanied,  or 
rather  it  is  in  a  great  measure  produced,  in  every 
right-minded  supplicant,  by  a  deep  sense  of  unworthi- 
ness,  guilt  and  pollution.  It  is  this  which  makes  us 
most  impressively  sensible  of  our  need  of  a  Mediator 
and  Intercessor — sensible  that  without  a  day's-man 
between  us  and  the  holy  God  whom  we  approach, 
we  should  be  without  hope,  and  must  shrink  back 
from  Him  who  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity, 
into  utter  darkness  and  despair.  But  knowing  that 
"we  have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father,"  who  is  al- 
ways heard  and  always  prevalent,  and  coming  in  his 
name,  and  putting  every  request  into  his  hand,  we 
are  enabled  to  draw  near — 

3.  "  With  confidence,  as  children  to  a  Father,  who 
is  able  and  ready  to  help  us."  Confidence  in  offering 
a  request,  must  always  arise  from  the  belief  that  he 
to  whom  we  offer  it,  is  both  able  and  disposed  to  grant 
what  we  ask.  Hence  the  inspired  declaration,  that  "  he 
that  cometh  to  God  must  believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he 
is  a  rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him."  The 
confidence  which  dutiful  children  feel  that  the  requests 
they  make  to  a  wise  and  kind  father  will  be  favoura- 
bly heard,  is  ever  mingled  with  conscious  love  to  that 
father.  Love,  indeed,  is  the  source  and  vital  spring 
of  this  confidence.  It  is  this  love,  tempering  the  awe 
of  which  I  have  spoken,  that  constitutes  that  true 
filial  spirit  by  which  the  people  of  God  draw  near  to 
him  in  prayer,  as  children  to  a  father — It  is  the  spirit 
of  adoption,  "  whereby  they  cry  Abba  Father." 

In  the  sacred  Scriptures  there  are  various  senses  in 
which  God  is  represented  as  our  Father,  Sometimes 
he  is  thus  denominated  because  he  is  our  Creator, 
Preserver  and  Benefactor.  Hence  the  prophet  says, 
"  Have  we  not  all  one  Father?  hath  not  one  God  creat- 


438  LECTURES     ON    THE 

edus?"  Elsewhere  he  is  called  "The  God  of  the  spirits 
of  all  flesh"  and  "the  Father  of  spirits."  The  apostle 
Paul  quotes  even  a  heathen  poet  as  saying  of  God 
"  For  we  also  are  his  offspring."  And  in  numerous 
passages  of  the  sacred  oracles  he  is  represented  as 
protecting,  providing  for,  and  doing  good  to  his  de- 
pendent creatures.  The  Psalmist,  speaking  of  God 
says — "  Thou  openest  thy  hand  and  satisfiest  the  de- 
sire of  every  living  thing."  Again.  God  is  sometimes, 
in  the  volume  of  inspiration,  called  the  Father  of  his 
professing  people,  in  virtue  of  the  covenant  relation 
which  subsists  between  him  and  them.  In  this  sense 
those  Scriptures  are  to  be  understood  in  which  Jeho- 
vah says,  speakitig  of  his  ancient  chosen  people,  "Is- 
rael is  my  son,  even  my  first-born — I  have  nourished 
and  brought  up  children,  and  they  have  rebelled 
against  me — If  then  I  be  a  father,  where  is  ray  ho- 
nour— Wilt  thou  not,  from  this  time,  cry  to  me,  "  My 
Father,  thou  art  the  guide  of  my  youth,"  Once  more 
and  especially:  God  is  called  the  Father  of  his  people, 
in  consequence  of  the  relation  in  which  he  stands  to 
them  by  their  regeneration  and  adoption — They  are 
"born  of  God,"  are  "  partakers  of  a  divine  nature," 
have  "received  the  adoption  of  sons,"  are  "  heirs  of 
God  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ;"  and  the  eternal 
Son  of  God  himself — most  astonishing  thought!  "is 
not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren."  Now,  beloved 
youth,  if  you  give  yourselves  entirely  to  the  Lord — 
for  otdy  on  this  condition  can  you  do  it — you  may, 
with  holy  confidence,  draw  near  to  God  as  your  Fa- 
ther in  all  the  respects  and  relations  that  I  liave  men- 
tioned. You  may  view  him  as  your  Father  in  hea- 
ven— the  Great  God  wlio  "dwelleth  in  the  high  and 
lioly  place,"  the  Sovereign  of  all  worlds,  having  all 
beings  in  the  universe,  every  thing,  whether  animate 
or  inanimate,  under  his  perfect  control  and  at  his  ab- 
solute command.  Sncli  a  Being  you  cannot  for  a 
moment  doubt  is  '^  able  to  help  you;"  and  if  you  can 
look  up  to  him  as  your  Father  by  adoption,  you  ought 
not  to  question  that  he  is  as  ready  to  help  as  he  is 
able.     "  For  like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so 


SHOKTEK     CATECHISM.  439 

the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him."  You  may  pour 
all  your  sorrows  and  complaints  into  his  compassion- 
ate bosom;  you  may  go  to  him  for  help  when  crea- 
tures can  help  no  longer;  you  may  look  to  him  to 
supply  all  your  wants,  to  relieve  all  your  necessities, 
and  to  protect  you  against  all  dangers  and  all  enemies. 
Such  a  Father  is  God,  to  all  who  are  reconciled  to 
him  through  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son  our  Saviour.  Those 
who  are  not  thus  reconciled,  may  indeed  regard  him 
as  their  Creator,  and  if,  by  parental  faith,  his  covenant 
has  been  taken  hold  of  in  their  behalf,  they  may  plead 
that  relation  also;  but  till  they  are  his  cliildren  by 
being  "  born  of  his  Spirit,"  they  can  never  avail  them- 
selves of  the  angelic  privilege,  and  share  in  the  holy 
and  sublime  pleasure  of  crying  "Abba  Father,"  when 
they  approach  him  in  acts  of  worship — when  offering 
their  petitions  and  uttering  their  thanksgiving  and 
praise.  Never  be  contented,  therefore,  till  in  this  high 
and  peculiar  sense  you  can  regard  and  address  him  as 
your  Father  in  heaven.  Let  it  be  the  burden  of  your 
souls  and  of  your  prayers;  that  by  the  regenerating 
grace  of  his  holy  Spirit  he  may  make  you  his  chil- 
dren, by  a  saving  union  with  Christ  Jesus  his  well 
beloved  Son — that  yon  may  have  the  privilege  and 
know  the  sweetness  of  access  to  him  with  holy  bold- 
ness, and  taste  of  that  delightful  communion  with  the 
Father  of  your  Spirits  which  is  heaven  begun  on 
earth — a  preparation  for,  and  prelibation  of,  the  hea- 
ven of  eternal  felicity,  when  mortality  shall  be  swal- 
lowed up  of  life. 

But  the  answer  before  us  teaches  that  the  words 
"  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven,"  intimate  that  we 
are  to  pray  with  and  for  others."  We  pray  with 
others,  both  when  we  are  their  mouth  to  God  in  this 
sacred  exercise,  and  when  another  performs  this  office, 
and  we  join  in  the  petitions  which  he  offers.  It  ought 
ever  to  be  kept  in  mind,  that  in  social  prayer  every 
one  is  bound  to  pray — it  is  his  duty  to  be  as  devout, 
and  as  earnest,  and  to  guard  as  much  against  wander- 
ing thoughts,  when  another  leads,  as  when  he  is  him- 
self the  speaker.  Our  presence,  and  profession  to  join 


440  LECTURES     ON    THE 

ill  the  devotional  act,  identify  us  with  the  speaker, 
and  we  awfully  trifle  and  are  chargeable  with  pro- 
faneness,  if  we  do  not  use  our  utmost  endeavours  to 
accompany  the  words  which  are  uttered,  with  the 
sincere  desires  of  our  souls,  Alas!  there  is  much  sin 
committed,  in  that  very  exercise  in  which  we  profess 
to  plead  for  its  pardon. 

The  Lord's  Prayer  may  doubtless  be  used  with 
great  propriety  in  private,  as  well  as  in  social  or  pub- 
lic worship.  Yet  in  private  prayer,  we  are  not  bound 
always  to  speak  in  the  plural  number.  Much  of  our 
address  to  the  great  Hearer  of  prayer  may  and  ought 
to  relate  to  our  personal  wants,  and  necessities,  and 
obligation  to  gratitude  and  thanksgiving,  in  which 
propriety  requires  that  we  speak  as  individuals.  It 
would  seem,  however,  to  be  the  intention  of  our 
blessed  Lord,  to  teach  us  in  tiiis  prayer  to  recognise 
our  connexion  with  the  whole  household  of  faith — 
the  whole  family  of  the  adopted  children  of  God;  and 
although  we  pronounce  this  prayer  in  secret,  to  join 
with  them  in  the  acknowledgments  and  requests 
which,  as  his  sons  and  daughters,  they  cannot  but 
make,  and  in  which  their  spirits,  however  separated 
for  the  present,  do  always  harmonize  and  sweetly 
unite.  This  is  the  blessed  communion  of  saints,  com- 
menced on  earth  and  to  be  perfected  in  heaven. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  44 1 


LECTURE  LXXV. 


We  are  now  to  consider  the  import  of  the  first  petition 
of  the  Lord's  prayer,  which  is,  '•  Hallowed  be  thy 
name. "  In  these  few  words,  as  our  Catechism  teaches 
us,  "  We  pray  that  God  would  enable  us  and  others 
to  glorify  him,  in  all  that  whereby  he  maketh  himself 
known,  and  that  he  would  dispose  of  all  things  to  his 
own  glory," 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  and  remembrance,  that  in 
teaching  us  to  pray,  in  this  brief  summary  of  devotion, 
the  same  order  is  observed  as  in  specifying  our  moral 
obligations  in  the  decalogue;  that  is,  the  duty  which 
we  owe  to  God  takes  precedence  of  that  which  is  due 
to  ourselves,  and  to  our  fellow  men.  Of  six  petitions 
contained  in  this  prayer,  the  first  three  relate  exclu- 
sively to  God ;  teaching  us  to  regard  his  glory  as  su- 
preme, and  as  claiming  our  attention  before  we  even 
mention  what  relates  to  the  welfare  of  his  creatures. 
It  ought  also  to  be  noted,  that  when  we  pray  that 
God  would  enable  us  and  others  to  glorify  him,  we 
impliedly  confess  that  we  are  unable  to  do  it,  without 
his  gracious  assistance.  The  utter  impotence  of  fallen 
man,  if  left  to  himself,  for  any  good  thought,  word  or 
work,  is  a  truth  most  clearly  taught  in  the  oracles  of 
inspiration.  "No  man,  said  the  Saviour,  can  come 
unto  me,  except  the  Father  which  hath  sent  me  draw 
him."  And  again,  "  Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing." 
"Not,  says  St.  Paul,  that  we  are  sufficient  of  ourselves 
to  think  any  thing,  as  of  ourselves,  but  our  sufficiency 
is  of  God."  When  therefore  we  say — "  Hallowed  be 
thy  name,"  we  must  be  considered  as  recognizing 
the  truth,  that  so  far  as  our  agency  is  concerned,  we 
indispensably  need,  and  therefore  ask,  the  aid  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  in  the  discharge  of  the  duty  we  essay. 

God  will,  indeed,  glorify  himself  by  us  and  others, 

VOL.  II. — 29 


442  LECTURES    ON    THE 

yea, "  by  all  that  whereby  he  maketh  himself  known," 
whatever  may  be  the  inclinations,  or  whatever  the 
course  of  action,  of  any  of  his  rebellious  creatures.  It 
is  said  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  "  The  Lord  hath  made 
all  things  for  himself;  yea  even  the  wicked  for  the 
day  of  evil."  "  Surely,  says  the  Psalmist,  the  wrath 
of  man  shall  praise  thee;  the  remainder  of  wrath  shall 
thou  restrain."  In  the  creation,  arrangement  and 
order  of  the  material  universe;  in  peopling  it  with 
sentient  beings,  from  the  smallest  insect  to  the  highest 
angel;  and  in  all  the  transcendent  manifestation  of  his 
perfections  in  the  plan  and  work  of  man's  redemption, 
his  own  glory  was,  most  fitly,  the  supreme  and  ulti- 
mate object  of  the  ever  blessed  God.  In  the  eternal 
and  ineffable  happiness  of  all  those  intelligent  and 
moral  beings  who  love  and  obey  him,  it  is  his  purpose 
to  exhibit  his  goodness,  grace  and  mercy,  as  incon- 
ceivably glorious;  and  in  the  punishment  and  ever- 
lasting perdition  of  all  those  who  finally  refuse  him 
their  cordial  allegiance,  he  has  determined  to  glorify 
his  equity  and  justice.  Now  our  duty  consists,  in 
praying  that  we  and  others  may  not  be  the  unwilling 
subjects  on  whom  God  shall  glorify  himself,  but  that 
we  may  be  voluntarily,  actively,  delightfully  and 
eternally  employed,  in  contemplating,  admiring  and 
showing  forth  his  glory,  as  it  is  displayed  in  his  attri- 
butes, ordinances,  word  and  works — in  creation,  pro- 
vidence, and  redemption. 

We  glorify  God  in  his  attributes  or  perfections, 
when  we  conceive  of  them  justly,  and  speak  of  them 
with  suitable  reverence,  and  endeavour  to  cultivate, 
in  regard  to  them,  the  proper  mental  exercises.  We 
glorify  him  in  his  ordinances,  when  we  reverently 
and  delightfully  attend  upon  them,  and  make  them 
instrumental  to  our  spiritual  improvement,  consola- 
tion and  growth  in  grace.  "A  day  in  thy  courts, 
said  the  Psalmist,  is  better  than  a  thousand;  I  had 
rather  be  a  door  keeper  in  the  house  of  my  God,  than 
to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness."  We  glorify  him 
in  his  word,  when  we  in  faith  "  receive  it,  not  as  the 
word  of  men,  but  as  it  is  in  truth  the  word  of  God, 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  443 

which  effectually  worketh  also  in  them  that  believe." 
We  glorify  him  in  his  work  of  creation,  when  the 
contemplation  of  it  leads  us  to  admiring  and  adoring 
apprehensions  of  its  Author,  whose  wisdom,  power, 
and  goodness,  shine  conspicuously  throughout  the 
whole — ''  For  the  invisible  things  of  him  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  under- 
stood by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal 
power  and  Godhead."  We  glorify  him  in  his  provi- 
dence, when  we  cherish  a  grateful  sense  of  his  pro- 
tecting care,  of  his  abundant  mercies,  of  the  provision 
which  he  has  made  to  supply  the  wants  of  every  liv- 
ing thing;  and  when  we  eye  his  hand  in  all  that  be- 
falls us,  and  tremble  at  his  judgments.  We  glorify 
God  in  the  work  of  redemption,  when  we  receive  and 
rest  upon  Christ  alone  for  salvation  as  he  is  offered 
in  the  gospel;  and  when  the  harmony  and  lustre  of 
the  divine  attributes,  as  displayed  in  the  astonishing 
device  of  saving  sinful  men  and  making  them  heirs 
of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Christ,  is  the  frequent 
theme  of  our  adoring  admiration  and  praise.  "  God, 
says  the  apostle,  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine 
out  of  darkness,  hath  shined  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the 
light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ." 

But  we  are  also  to  pray  that  others,  as  well  as  our- 
selves, may  be  brought  to  glorify  God.  This  parti- 
cularly relates  to  making  the  prevalence  of  true  reli- 
gion the  subject  of  our  supplications;  which  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  consider  more  at  large,  in  treating 
of  the  two  next  petitions.  Here,  however,  it  may  be 
proper  to  remark,  that  the  whole  heathen  world,  as 
well  as  all  under  the  light  of  the  gospel,  who  have 
adopted  an  erroneous  system  of  religion,  have  impro- 
per and  degrading  ideas  of  the  Deity;  if  indeed  the 
heathen  can  be  said  to  have  any  just  conceptions  at 
I  all  of  the  divine  nature  and  attributes.  Erroneous 
I  or  inadeqatate  ideas  of  God,  indeed,  lie  at  the  foun- 
I  dation  of  all  false  religion.  Now,  as  we  understand 
by  the  name  of  God  in  the  answer  before  us,  those 
attributes  or  perfections  by  which  he  makes  himself 


y 


444  LECTURES     ON     THE 

known,  and  by  which  right  apprehensions  of  Him 
are  acquired,  so,  when  wo  pray  that  his  name  may 
he  hallowed,  we  desire  and  asic  that  all  false  notions 
of  the  divine  character  may  be  banished  from  the 
minds  of  men;  and  that,  conceiving  of  his  majesty, 
purity  and  holiness  aright,  a  rational  fear  and  worship 
of  him  may  pervade  the  world — That  atheism,  infi- 
delity, heathenism,  Mohammedan  delusion,  Popish 
superstition,  heresy,  all  will  worship,  and  all  heartless 
formality  in  religion,  may  vanish  before  the  luminous 
and  powerful  influence  of  gospel  truth  and  vital  god- 
liness. 

In  praying  that  God  would  "  dispose  of  all  things 
to  his  own  glory,"  it  is  especially  proper  that  we  take 
into  view  those  things  whose  direct  and  natural  ten- 
dency is  adverse  to  his  glory,  but  which  he  can  so 
overrule  as  to  promote  it  in  the  most  eminent  degree. 
I  will  mention  a  few  instances  of  this  kind,  for  the 
illustration  of  this  important  point.  The  most  won- 
derful instance  of  all,  is  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
Christ.  The  sun  never  shone  on  another  scene  of 
guilt  so  awful  and  complicated,  as  was  exhibited  by 
those  who  crucified  and  slew  the  Lord  of  glory.  In- 
deed you  know  that  for  a  time  the  sun  refused,  as  it 
were,  to  shine  upon  it.  Satan  and  the  agents  whom 
he  employed  in  this  awful  transaction,  expected,  no 
doubt,  that  a  death  blow  had  been  given  to  the  whole 
work  of  Christ,  when  they  saw  him  expire  on  the 
cross.  Yet  by  the  all-disposing  wisdom  and  power 
of  God,  this  very  event  is  made  the  foundation  of 
every  sinner's  hope — is  overruled,  to  bring  to  glory 
the  whole  elect  and  ransomed  people  of  the  Lord. 
Again.  The  persecution  of  Christians,  is,  in  its  natu- 
ral tendency,  and  in  the  design  of  persecutors,  adverse 
io  the  glory  of  God,  as  it  is  promoted  by  the  truths 
of  the  gospel  and  the  holy  and  exemplary  lives  of  true 
believers.  Yet  persecution  has  often  been  overruled, 
in  a  most  remarkable  manner,  for  the  extension  of 
the  cause  and  kingdom  of  Christ.  It  became  prover- 
bial with  the  primitive  Christians,  that,  "  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  church."     The 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  445 

persecutions  of  the  apostolic  age  resulted  in  the  con- 
version of  Saul  of  Tarsus,  who  became  the  great 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  who  laboured  more  abun- 
dantly and  more  successfully  than  any  other  indivi- 
dual of  the  apostolic  college.  Once  more.  The  griev- 
ous sins  and  falls  of  true  believers,  are  overruled  by 
God  to  render  them  more  humble,  watchful  and  ex- 
emplary, in  the  whole  of  their  subsequent  lives.  Such, 
you  are  aware,  was  the  effect  of  the  falls  of  David 
and  Peter,  as  narrated  in  the  sacred  volume;  and  the 
record  of  their  fall  and  recovery,  however  it  may 
have  provoked  the  sneer  of  the  infidel,  and  proved  a 
stumbling  block  to  the  careless  and  inconsiderate,  has 
kept  many  a  broken  hearted  penitent  from  utter  de- 
spair, encouraged  him  to  return  to  his  God,  caused 
him  to  experience  anew  the  consolations  of  divine 
grace,  and  to  proclaim  to  others  the  freeness  and 
riches  of  recovering  mercy. 

Thus  you  perceive,  that  God's  name  may  be  hal- 
lowed— his  glory  may  be  and  often  is  promoted,  by 
disposing  to  that  end,  event?  and  actions,  in  their  na- 
ture and  tendency  most  hostile  to  such  a  result. 

Our  Catechism  teaches,  that  "  In  the  second  petition 
of  the  Lord's  prayer  which  is.  Thy  kingdom  come, 
we  pray  that  Satan's  kingdom  may  be  destroyed;  and 
that  the  kingdom  of  grace  may  be  advanced,  ourselves 
and  others  brought  into  it  and  kept  in  it;  and  that  the 
kingdom  of  glory  may  be  hastened." 

Three  kingdoms  are  mentioned  in  this  answer  — 
the  kingdom  of  Satan,  the  kingdom  of  grace,  and  the 
kingdom  of  glory;  and  we  are  taught  to  pray  for  the 
destruction  of  the  first  of  these  kingdoms,  for  the  ad- 
vancement or  extension  of  the  second,  and  for  the 
hastening  of  the  third — I  will  endeavour  to  illustrate 
each  of  these  particulars  in  order. 

The  term  Satan  is  a  Hebrew  word,  the  strict  im- 
port of  which  is,  an  adversary,  an  enemy ^  an  accuser. 
He  appears  to  have  been  originally  an  angel  of  light 
of  a  high  order,  and  the  chief  or  leader  of  the  angels 
who  fell,  and  to  be  at  present  "  the  prince  of  the  de- 
vils," the  same  as  Beelzebub,  who  is  thus  denomi- 


446 


LECTURES    OX    THE 


nated  in  the  controversy  of  the  Pharisees  with  our 
Saviour.  To  this  apostate  but  powerful  spirit  there 
is  doubtles  reference,  when  we  read  of  "the  prince 
of  this  world  being  cast  out;"  "of  the  God  of  this 
world  blinding  the  minds  of  them  that  believe  not;" 
of  "  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air,  the  spirit  that 
now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedience;"  and 
of  "the  dragon,  that  old  Serpent,  which  is  the  devil 
and  Satan,  being  bound  a  thousand  years"  in  the 
Millenial  age.  Under  him  is  a  host  of  evil  spirits,  all 
engaged  in  promoting  his  cause,  and  extending  his 
empire.  To  this  empire  or  kingdom,  which  is  directly 
and  malignantly  opposed  to  the  kingdom  of  grace,  all 
iinsanctified  men,  from  the  fall  of  Adam  to  the  end  of 
the  world  have,  according  to  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
belonged,  or  will  belong.  It  is  affecting  to  think  how 
extensive,  and  at  times  almost  universal,  this  empire 
or  kingdom  of  the  enemy  of  God  and  man  has  hitherto 
been.  It  has  included  all  those  nations  of  the  earth 
among  whom  there  has  been  no  knowledge  or  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God.  It  now  includes  the  whole 
heathen  world,  comprising  a  very  large  majority  of 
the  human  family.  It  also  comprehends  all  the  athe- 
ists, infidels,  holders  of  fatal  heresies,  and  all  mere 
formalists  in  religion,  who  have  lived,  or  now  live, 
under  the  light  of  the  gospel.  Nay,  we  have  the  au- 
thority of  inspiration  for  asserting,  as  already  inti- 
mated, that  every  unregenerate  sinner  belongs  to  the 
kingdom  of  Satan ;  for  the  sacred  oracles  declare  that 
"  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God,"  and  a  text, 
already  quoted,  affirms,  that  the  prince  of  the  power 
of  the  air  is  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  chil- 
dren of  disobedience; — they  are  "  taken  captive  by  the 
devil  at  his  will." 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  my  dear  young 
friends,  that  you  should  keep  in  mind,  that  those  over 
whom  the  adversary  of  our  race  extends  his  power 
and  empire,  are  his  willing  subjects.  Cruel  and  fear- 
ful as  his  reign  is,  they  who  submit  to  it  act  volunta- 
rily; they  choose  the  state  of  subjection,  the  awful 
thraldom,  in  which  they  are  held.     In  other  words, 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  447 

the  seat  of  Satan's  empire  is  in  the  heart  of  every  un- 
sanctified  sinner.  This  is  manifest  from  the  passages 
of  Scripture  just  now  repeated.  In  one  of  those  pas- 
sages the  inspired  apostle,  after  speaking  of  "  the 
spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedi- 
ence," immediately  adds,  "  among  whom  also  we  all 
had  our  conversation  in  time  past,  fulfilling  the  de- 
sires of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind;  and  were  by  nature 
the  children  of  wrath,  even  as  others."  When,  there- 
fore, we  pray  that  Satan's  kingdom  may  be  destroyed, 
we  ask  that  the  mighty  power  of  God  may  dethrone 
him  in  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  men,  till  the  whole 
world  shall  be  emancipated  from  his  sway.  This 
leads  us  to  consider 

2.  That  we  are  to  pray  that  the  kingdom  of  grace 
may  be  advanced.  You  will  understand  that  when- 
ever Satan  loses  a  subject,  that  subject  is  translated 
into  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son — the  kingdom  of 
grace.  This  blessed  kingdom  was  established  in  op- 
position to  that  of  Satan,  immediately  after  the  fall  of 
our  first  parents;  and  they  probably  were  the  first 
subjects  of  it,  although  the  adversary,  no  doubt, 
thought  that  he  had  secured  them  for  himself.  And 
from  that  time  onward,  this  kingdom,  which  is  no 
other  than  the  church  of  God,  has  existed  in  the  world; 
so  that  we  are  not  to  pray  for  its  commencement,  for 
that  has  already  taken  place,  and  a  promise  has  been 
given  that  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 
it.  In  praying  for  the  advancement,  or  extension  of 
this  kingdom,  we  have  great  encouragement  to  be 
importunate  and  persevering.  For  although,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  empire  of  Satan  has  hitherto  been,  and 
still  is,  very  extensive,  yet  we  are  assured  that  such 
will  not  always  be  the  fact.  Infallible  truth  is  pledged 
that  the  heathen  shall  be  given  to  Christ  for  his  inhe- 
ritance, and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his 
possession;  that  the  time  shall  come,  when  men  shall 
no  more  need  to  be  taught,  saying,  know  the  Lord, 
for  all  shall  know  him,  from  the  least  unto  the  great- 
est; that  the  prince  of  darkness,  mighty  as  he  is,  shall 
be  bound  and  cast  into  the  abyss,  and  be  there  shut 


448 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


up,  SO  that  he  shaU  no  more  deceive  the  nations,  for  a 
thousand  years.  Then  the  kingdom  of  grace  will  pro- 
bably be  more  widely  extended  than  the  kingdom  of 
Satan  has  ever  been.  For  the  introduction  of  this 
jVIillennial  era  we  are  constantly  to  offer  the  prayer  of 
faith;  believing  that  what  God  has  promised,  lie  is 
both  able  and  faithful  to  perform. 

In  the  duty  enjoined  in  this  petition,  the  Catechism 
teaches  us  to  begin  with  ourselves — to  pray  that  first 
loe,  and  then  that  others,  may  be  brought  into  the 
kingdom  of  grace,  and  kept  in  it.  Both  we  and  others, 
if  we  have  a  place  in  this  kingdom,  must  have  been 
brought  into  it  by  the  gracious  and  transforming  in- 
fluence of  the  Spirit  of  God,  accompanying  the  faithful 
dispensation  of  revealed  truth:  And  we  must  be  kept 
in  it  "  by  continued  emanations  of  grace  out  of  the 
fulness  of  Christ,  whereby  the  principle  of  grace  is 
quickened,  strengthened  and  preserved." 

Scott,  in  his  excellent  commentary  on  the  petition 
of  our  Lord's  prayer  which  we  now  consider,  says — 
"  This  petition  implies,  first  an  earnest  desire,  that 
this  kingdom  of  God  may  be  set  up  in  our  hearts,  re- 
ducing all  within  us  to  entire  subjection  to  Christ  our 
King:  then,  that  it  may  be  set  up  in  the  hearts  of  our 
children,  relatives,  servants,  friends,  neighbours;  that 
all  who  call  themselves  Christians  may  be  led  into 
the  way  of  truth  and  holiness;  that  the  true  gospel 
may  be  every  where  preached,  with  the  Holy  Spirit 
sent  down  from  heaven,  to  render  it  efficacious;  and 
that  '  all  kings  may  fall  down  before  the  Redeemer; 
that  all  nations  may  do  him  service:' and  in  short, 
that  in  due  time,  sin  and  Satan,  and  all  his  party, 
may  be  banished  out  of  the  world,  and  shut  up  in 
hell,  never  more  to  defile  or  disturb  the  creation  or 
kingdom  of  God.  Every  thing  relative  to  the  send- 
ing forth,  qualifying,  and  success  of  ministers,  the 
conversion  of  sinners,  the  peace  and  purity  of  the 
church,  the  subversion  of  Antiehristian  Powers,  and 
the  bringing  of  Jews,  Pagans  and  Mahometans  into 
the  church,  is  implied  in  this  petition." 

3.  We  are  to  pray  that  the  kingdom  of  glory  may 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  449 

be  hastened.  The  church  militant  on  earth,  is  a  nur- 
sery for  the  church  triumpliant  in  heaven.  The  latter 
is  called  the  kingdom  of  glory,  because  there  the 
blessed  Redeemer  and  all  his  faithful  people,  however 
they  may  have  been  disesteemed  and  dishonoured  by 
an  ungodly  world,  will  appear  ineffably  glorious; 
while  all  their  irreclaimable  enemies  will  be  clothed 
with  shame  and  everlasting  confusion  and  contempt. 
The  saints  in  heaven  will  obtain  a  perfect  conformity, 
in  their  measure,  to  the  likeness  of  their  glorified  Sa- 
viour— "  we  shall  be  like  iiim,"  says  the  apostle  John, 
"  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is;"  and  they  will  have 
an  uninterrupted  vision  and  fruition  of  God  to  all 
eternity.  They  will  enter  this  kingdom  of  glory  im- 
mediately after  the  dissolution  of  the  body;  they  will 
appear  with  Christ  when  he  shall  come  at  the  last 
day,  "  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints  and  admired  in  all 
them  that  believe;"  they  will  be  assessors  with  their 
Lord  in  the  condemnation  of  wicked  men  and  angels, 
and  will  hear  his  plaudit  before  the  assembled  uni- 
verse, "  Come  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the 
kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world;"  and  thus  shall  they  enter  into  the  joy  of  their 
Lord,  to  be  ever  with  him,  beholding  and  partaking 
of  his  glory,  with  increasing  and  never  ending  delight. 
When  we  pray  that  this  kingdom  of  glory  may  be 
hastened,  our  meaning  should  not  be,  that  the  set  time 
for  the  coming  of  Christ,  either  in  reference  to  our 
beatific  vision  of  him  immediately  after  death,  or  his 
final  coming  to  judge  the  world  in  righteousness, 
"should  be  anticipated,  or  come  sooner,  than  the 
moment  fixed  for  it  in  infinite  wisdom."  In  the  pro- 
per use  of  this  petition,  there  is  nothing  more  than 
the  expression  of  that  state  of  feeling,  in  which  the 
soul  of  the  believer  springs  forward,  if  I  may  so  speak, 
to  the  period  of  its  glorification,  and  is  ready  to  wish 
that  it  were  just  at  hand.  The  apostle  Paul  express- 
ed this  feeling  when  he  said,  "  I  have  a  desire  to  de- 
part and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better;"  while 
yet,  for  the  good  of  the  church  and  the  glory  of  God, 
he  was  willing  to  live,  and  labour,  and  suffer,  till  his 


y 


450  LECTURES     ON     THE 

appointed  time  for  entering  on  his  eternal  rest  and 
reward  should  arrive.  All  the  people  of  God  must 
and  do  desire  to  be  with  Christ  in  glory,  "  that  an 
eternal  period  may  be  put  to  all  their  sinning,  and  to 
every  thing  that  has  a  tendency  to  detract  from  the 
glory  of  his  kingdom,  and  the  happiness  of  his  sub- 
jects; wherefore,  as  he  saith,  surely  I  come  quickly: 
So  they/?ray,  Jlinen,  even  so  come  Lord  Jesus.^'* 
The  feelings  of  a  holy  soul  in  praying  that  the  king- 
dom of  glory  may  be  hastened,  are  admirably  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  beautiful  hymn,  said  to  have 
been  the  last  composed  by  the  poet  Cowper — 

To  Jesus,  the  crown  of  my  hope, 

My  soul  is  in  haste  to  be  gone ; 
Oh  bear  me,  ye  cherubim,  up, 

And  waft  me  away  to  his  throne. 

Thou  Saviour,  whom  absent,  I  love, 

Whom  not  having  seen,  I  adore, 
Whose  name  is  exalted  above 

All  glory,  dominion  and  power — 

Dissolve  thou  the  bands  that  detain 
My  soul  from  her  portion  in  thee; 

O  break  off  this  adamant  chain, 
And  make  me  eternally  free. 

Then  that  happy  era  begins. 

When  arrayed  in  thy  glory  I  shine; 

And  no  longer  pierce  with  my  sins 
The  bosom  on  which  I  recline. 

In  the  next,  or  third  petition  of  the  Lord's  prayer, 
which  is,  "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  hea- 
ven," "  we  pray,"  says  our  Catechism,  "  That  God, 
by  his  grace  would  make  us  able  and  willing  to  know, 
obey,  and  submit  to  his  will  in  all  things,  as  the  an- 
gels do  in  heaven." 

The  will  of  God  here  spoken  of  may  be  considered 
as  two-fold;  namely,  his /;roy?We/i/ea/ and  his  precep- 
tive will.  ]3y  the  former  we  understand  his  govern- 
ment of  the  universe,  according  to  his  own  eternal 
purpose  and  sovereign  pleasure — disposing  of  all 
events  and  all  creatures,  throughout  his  vast  domi- 

*  Fisher. 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  451 

nions,  as  seemeth  to  him  right  and  good.  By  the 
preceptive  will  of  God,  we  understand  his  laws  or  re- 
quisitions, made  known  to  his  intelligent  and  moral 
creatures,  for  their  obedience  and  direction  in  duty. 
Both  the  providential  and  preceptive  will  of  God  are 
contemplated  in  this  petition;  and  it  is  clearly  implied 
in  the  answer  of  the  Catechism  now  before  us,  that 
by  nature  we,  and  all  men,  are  so  blinded  and  per- 
verted by  sin,  that  we  do  not  see  the  true  design  of 
God's  providential  dispensations,  and  are  prone  to 
murmur  and  repine  against  them,  especially  when 
they  are  afflictive  to  ourselves;  and  that  we  are  utterly 
unable  and  unwilling  rightly  to  understand  and  rea- 
dily to  obey  his  holy  will,  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures 
of  truth;  but  on  the  contrary,  are  disposed  to  rebel 
against  it,  and  to  do  the  will  of  the  flesh  and  of  the 
devil.  Hence  we  are  taught  to  pray,  that  God  by  his 
grace,  imparted  to  us  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  would  en- 
lighten us  to  see  the  import  and  intention  of  his  pro- 
vidential dealings  with  us,  and  open  our  understand- 
ings that  we  may  rightly  understand  the  Scriptures, 
so  as  to  know  their  proper  scope  and  their  spiritual 
meaning;  and  that  He  would  incline  and  enable  us 
to  perform  our  duty,  when  we  are  brought  to  see 
what  it  is,  or  what  it  demands  of  us.  "  It  is  God, 
says  the  inspired  apostle,  who  worketh  in  you,  both 
to  will  and  to  do,  of  his  good  pleasure." 

When  we  are  taught  to  pray  that  the  will  of  God 
may  "  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven,"  or,  that 
we  may  conform  our  hearts  and  lives  to  it,  "  as  the 
angels  do  in  heaven,"  it  is  of  importance  to  under- 
stand that  the  word  AS  implies  resemblcaice,  and  not 
equality.  There  is  a  perfection  of  knowledge  in  the 
angels,  an  absorption  of  their  will  in  the  will  of  God, 
and  a  readiness  and  completeness  of  their  obedience 
to  his  will  in  all  things,  which  no  man  on  earth,  since 
the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  ever  did  or  ever  will  ex- 
emplify. But  although  our  conformity  to  the  divine 
will  can  never  equal,  yet  it  may  have  a  good  degree 
of  resemblance  to  that  of  the  holy  angels.  We  ought 
to  endeavour  to  imitate  them;  and  we  may  possess  a 


/ 


452  LECTURES     ON     THE 

measure  of  that  reverence  and  aptitude,  that  fidelity 
and  diligence,  that  sincerity  and  pleasure,  that  zeal, 
constancy  and  entire  devotedness,  with  which  the 
superior  order  of  happy  spirits  in  the  heavenly  world 
worship,  obey  and  execute  the  commands  of  our  com- 
mon God  and  Father.  The  saints  on  earth  and  the 
glorified  spirits  in  heaven,  all  belong  to  the  same 
family;  for  as  already  intimated,  the  church  on  earth 
is  a  nursery  for  heaven.  A  portion  of  the  heavenly 
temper  must  be  possessed  in  this  world,  by  every  in- 
dividul  of  the  human  race  who  is  either  prepared  for, 
or  has  any  right  to  expect,  an  admission  to  the  king- 
dom of  glory  above.  In  a  word,  as  has  often  and 
justly  been  said,  heaven  must  commence  on  earth; 
and  the  more  of  a  heavenly  disposition  any  individual 
possesses  now,  the  more  happy  and  useful  will  he  be 
while  he  remains  in  the  body,  and  the  better  will  he 
be  prepared  for  that  glorious  state  on  which  he  will 
enter,  when  "mortality  shall  be  swallowed  up  of  life:" 
and  he  who  does  not  now  desire  and  endeavour  to 
know,  obey  and  submit  to  the  will  of  God,  in  some 
good  measure  as  the  angels  do  in  heaven,  has  no  rea- 
son to  expect  that  he  will  or  can  be  admitted,  till 
better  qualified,  to  the  society  and  bliss  of  angels  and 
the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect.  In  the  expected 
Millennial  age,  when  pure  and  undefiled  religion  be- 
fore God  and  the  Father  shall  be  exemplified  among 
all  the  nations,  and  kindred,  and  people,  and  tongues 
of  the  whole  earth,  the  petition  we  consider  will  be 
answered  in  all  its  extent. 

This  third  petition  seems  to  be  intended  principally 
as  an  explanation  or  illustration  of  the  second;  and  I 
shall  close  the  present  lecture  with  the  concluding 
part  of  the  note  of  Dr.  Scott,  of  which  the  former  part 
has  already  been  cited.  He  says,  "All  the  inhabitants 
of  Heaven  do  the  will  of  God,  universally,  cheerfully, 
constantly,  perfectly,  harmoniously,  and  without  wea- 
riness, and  with  ineffable  delight;  and  we  are  taught 
to  pray  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  may  imi- 
tate, and  emulate  their  example;  that  all  men  becom- 
ing the  disciples  and  subjects  of  Christ,  may  renounce 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  453 

all  sin  and  wickedness,  and  obey  God's  command- 
ments witli  constancy,  liarmony  and  alacrity,  as 
angels  in  heaven  do;  that  an  end  may  be  put  to  all 
injustice,  oppression,  fraud,  violence,  bloodshed,  in- 
temperance, licentiousness,  ungodliness,  malice  and 
contention;  and  that  righteousness,  truth,  goodness, 
mercy,  purity,  love  of  God  and  each  other,  may  fill 
the  earth,  even  as  they  fill  heaven.  And  what  a 
change  would  this  be!  What  an  extensive  petition 
is  this! — At  the  same  time,  we  are  taught  to  pray, 
that  all  men  may  rejoice  in  the  sovereignty,  authority 
and  glory  of  God,  and  be  contented  and  satisfied  with 
his  appointments  respecting  them,  without  envy  or 
ambition;  but  rejoicing  to  see  others  honoured,  pros- 
pered, and  happy,  even  as  the  inhabitants  of  Heaven 
do.  And  while  we  ask  such  and  so  many  blessings 
for  others,  we  are  taught  to  ask  for  this  obedient,  sub- 
missive frame  of  mind  for  ourselves,  and  to  seek  for 
it  and  aim  at  it,  in  our  whole  conduct." 


454 


LECTURES     ON     THE 


LECTURE  LXXVI. 


Our  Lord  having  taught  us  m  what  manner  we  are 
to  address  our  heavenly  Father,  in  praying  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  kingdom  and  glory  in  the  world, 
dictates  three  other  petitions,  in  which  we  are  to  pray 
for  ourselves — for  those  favours  or  mercies,  in  which 
both  our  temporal  and  eternal  interests  are  involved. 
In  the  fourth  petition,  which  is  "  Give  us  this  day 
our  daily  bread,"  we  pray,  says  our  Catechism, 
"  That  of  God's  free  gift  we  may  receive  a  competent 
portion  of  the  good  things  of  this  life,  and  enjoy  his 
blessing  with  them" — You  ought  constantly  to  keep 
in  mind,  my  young  friends,  that  you  should  supplicate 
and  receive  the  protection  and  bounties  of  God's  com- 
mon providence  "  as  a  free  gift,"  This  is  too  often 
neglected  or  forgotten.  The  forgiveness  of  sin,  and 
the  saving  influences  of  divine  grace,  none  who  know 
what  these  things  mean,  will  fail  to  ask  for  as  bene- 
fits, to  which,  as  a  matter  of  right,  they  have  no  claim. 
We  have  forfeited  the  favour  of  God,  and  to  expect 
its  restoration  in  any  other  way  than  one  that  is  pure- 
ly gratuitous — in  any  manner  but  as  "a  free  gift," — 
is  seen  at  once  to  be  absurd.  But  it  is  not  so  readily 
admitted  and  recollected  that  by  our  sins  we  have 
also  forfeited  all  temporal  good — every  present  enjoy- 
ment, as  well  as  all  future  happiness;  and  therefore 
that  the  very  air  we  breathe,  the  health  we  possess, 
the  food  we  eat,  the  clothes  we  wear,  in  a  word, 
every  thing  that  contributes  to  our  earthly  comfort, 
does  actually  come  to  us  as  "  a  free  gift."  Man,  by 
the  violation  of  the  first  covenant  under  which  he  was 
placed,  forfeited  life  itself,  and  consequently  every 
thing  appertaining  to  it,  into  the  hands  of  divine  jus- 
tice. It  is  through  the  intervention  of  Christ  the  Me- 
diator, that  all  our  earthly  blessings  are  bestowed 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  455 

upon  us.  His  redeemed  people  receive  them  in  the 
channel  and  as  the  gift  of  covenant  love;  and  uncon- 
verted sinners  ought  to  receive  them,  as  proofs  of  the 
divine  forbearance,  and  as  affording  space,  and  oppor- 
tunity, and  a  call  to  repentance.  It  is  said  justly,  as 
well  as  beautifully,  by  Dr.  Watts — 

"  Our  life  is  forfeited  by  sin, 

To  God's  avenging  law; 
We  own  thy  grace,  immortal  King, 

In  every  gasp  we  draw." 

"  Thou  shalt  remember  the  Lord  thy  God,  said 
Moses  to  the  children  of  Israel;  for  it  is  he  that  giveth 
thee  power  to  get  wealth;"  and  this  injunction  is  as 
important  and  as  applicable  now  as  it  ever  was.  Keep 
it  in  constant  remembrance,  my  dear  youth,  that 
neither  talents  nor  industry  will  insure  you  success  in 
acquiring  worldly  possessions  of  whatever  kind,  un- 
less you  are  blessed  and  prospered  of  God;  nor  will 
such  possessions  when  obtained  render  you  happy, 
but  rather  increase  your  discontent  and  misery,  if  they 
are  not  accompanied  by  those  outward  circumstances, 
and  that  inward  state  of  mind,  which  God  alone  can. 
order  and  bestow. 

We  ought  to  be  willing  to  leave  it  with  our  hea- 
venly Father,  to  whom  our  prayer  is  addressed,  to 
determine  for  us  what  is  "  a  competent  portion  of  the 
good  things  of  this  life."  "  They  that  will  be  rich," 
says  the  apostle;  that  is,  they  who  are  bent,  at  all 
hazards  on  accumulating  wealth,  and  will  never  rest 
unless  they  obtain  it,  "  fall  into  temptation  and  a 
snare,  and  into  many  foolish  and  hateful  lusts,  which 
drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdition."  Consider- 
ing how  much  is  said  in  the  New  Testament  of  the 
danger  to  which  wealth  exposes  the  immortal  soul  of 
its  possessor,  we  may  well  wonder  at  the  general 
eagerness  with  which  it  is  pursued.  Persevering  in- 
dustry and  constant  economy  are  duties;  and  if  in  the 
use  of  these,  riches,  without  an  over  anxiety  for  at- 
taining them,  come  into  our  possession,  we  may  hope 
that  by  the  grace  of  God  we  may  be  preserved  from 
abusing  them  to  our  own  destruction.     Yet  however 


456  LECTURES      ON    THE 

obtained,  riches  always  bring  with  them  a  weighty 
and  fearful  responsibility  for  their  proper  use  and  em- 
ployment: so  that,  as  a  matter  of  choice,  the  prayer 
of  Agiir  should  be  ours — "Give  me  neither  poverty 
nor  riches — feed  me  with  food  convenient  for  me." 
This  is  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  petition  before 
us — ''Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread."  "Bread, 
says  Scott,  in  commenting  on  these  words — Bread  is 
one  principal  part  of  the  things  which  are  needful  for 
the  body,  and  is  often  put  for  tlie  whole:  by  the  use 
of  this  word  we  are  taught  to  ask  only  things  that  are 
necessary,  without  craving  superfluities;  and  to  refer 
it  to  our  heavenly  Father  to  determine  what  things 
are  necessary,  according  to  our  station  in  life,  our  fa- 
milies, and  various  other  circumstances.  All  Christians, 
whether  rich  or  poor,  are  taught  to  ask  this  provision 
from  God;  for  all  depend  upon  him  for  it,  should  re- 
ceive it  as  his  gift,  give  him  thanks  for  it,  and  use  it 
to  his  glory;  whether  it  come  from  their  estates,  com- 
merce, husbandry,  professions,  labour  or  skill,  or  from 
the  liberality  of  other  men.  We  are  taught  to  ask  it 
for  the  day  (perhaps  with  reference  to  the  manna 
which  Israel  received  fresh  every  day)  and  this  in- 
structs us  to  beware  of  covetousness,  to  be  moderate 
and  contented  with  a  slender  provision,  and  to  trust, 
God  from  day  to  day" — And  thus  the  poet, 

"  This  day  be  bread  and  peace  my  lot; 

All  else  beneath  the  sun, 
Thou  know'st  if  best  bestowed  or  not, 

And  let  thy  will  be  done."* 

"  A  little  that  a  righteous  man  hath,  says  the  Psalm- 
ist, is  better  than  the  riches  of  many  wicked."  To 
"  enjoy  God's  blessing"  with  what  we  possess,  is  es- 

*  Pope's  universal  prayer — a  composition  framed  on  the  infidel  no- 
tion that  the  "  Great  First  Cause,"  may  be  worsliipped  with  equal  ac- 
ceptance by  Jews,  under  the  appellation  of  "Jehovah;"  by  heathen, 
under  that  of  "  Jove,"  or  "  Jupiter  ;"  and  by  Christians,  under  that  of 
"  Lord."  Yet  this  monstrous  absurdity  does  not  prevent  this  compo- 
sition from  containing,  like  the  other  moral  writings  of  this  eminent 
poet,  many  just  thoughts,  expressed  with  unrivalled  propriety  and 
beauty. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  457 

sential  to  real  happiness;  and  having  this,  we  cannot 
be  miserable,  be  our  providential  allotment  what  it 
may.  "  The  blessing  of  the  Lord  it  maketh  rich,  and 
he  addeth  no  sorrow  with  it."  Be  it  your  chief  con- 
cern, therefore,  my  beloved  youth,  in  all  your  etTorts 
to  obtain  wealth,  or  to  rise  to  distinction,  to  act  in 
such  a  manner  as  that  you  may  humbly  hope  that  the 
blessing  of  God  will  constantly  attend  you;  and  en- 
deavour, "having  food  and  raiment,  to  be  therewith 
content."  "  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his 
righteousness,  and  all  these  things  (of  a  worldly  kind, 
and  necessary  for  your  happiness)  shall  be  added  unto 
you."  I  conclude  what  I  have  to  ofler  on  this  peti- 
tion, with  the  excellent  statement  of  the  duties  it  in- 
volves, as  given  in  our  larger  Catechisms — "  We  pray 
in  this  petition  for  ourselves  and  others,  that  both  they 
and  we,  waiting  upon  the  providence  of  God  from  day 
to  day  in  the  use  of  lawful  means,  may  of  his  free  gift, 
and  as  to  his  fatherly  wisdom  shall  seem  best,  enjoy  a 
competent  portion  of  the  outward  blessings  of  this  life, 
and  have  the  same  continued  and  blessed  unto  us  in 
our  holy  and  comfortable  use  of  them,  and  content- 
ment in  them:  and  be  kept  from  all  things  that  are 
contrary  to  our  temporal  support  and  comfort." 

We  now  proceed  to  the  fifth  petition,  which  is — 
"  And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  forgive  our  debtors" 
— in  which,  according  to  our  Catechism,  "  we  pray 
that  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  would  freely  pardon  all 
our  sins;  which  we  are  the  rather  encouraged  to  ask, 
because,  by  his  grace,  we  are  enabled,  from  the  heart, 
to  forgive  others." 

It  ought  to  be  particularly  noticed  that  this  petition 
is  connected  with  that  which  immediately  precedes  it, 
by  the  copulative  conjunction  and — thus  teaching  us, 
that  we  ought  to  pray  for  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins 
as  often  as  we  ask  for  our  daily  bread ;  and  that  with- 
out the  pardon  of  sin,  there  is  no  true  enjoyment  of 
the  common  bounties  of  God's  providence. 

By  the  word  debts  in  this  petition,  we  are  to  under- 
stand sins.  This  is  put  beyond  question  by  the  very 
same  petition  being  expressed  in  the  gospel  of  Luke 

VOL.  II. — 30 


458 


LECTURES     ON    THE 


by  the  words  "  forgive  us  our  sins:"  and  sins,  whether 
of  omission  or  commission,  are,  with  great  propriety 
denominated  debts,  inasmuch  as  punishment  is  their 
due  from  the  justice  of  God.  The  apostle  declares, 
"that  the  tvages  of  sin  is  death."  Now  we  ask  the 
fo7'giveness  of  these  debts,  because  "  neither  we  nor 
any  other  creature  can  make  the  least  satisfaction  for 
them,"  as  our  Lord  himself  shows,  in  the  parable 
contained  in  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  Matthew,  in 
which  he  teaches  and  illustrates  at  length,  the  doctrine 
and  duty  of  forgiveness.  The  way  in  which  we  are 
to  ask  and  expect  forgiveness,  is  pointed  out  in  the 
answer  before  us — we  are  told,  that  in  the  very  lan- 
guage of  the  petition,  when  rightly  understood  and 
properly  used,  "  We  pray  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake, 
would  freely  pardon  all  our  sins." 

It  is  the  prerogative  of  God  alone  to  forgive  sin. 
In  every  sin,  although  a  fellow  creature  be  the  inrnie- 
diate  object  of  it,  God  is  the  party  whom  we  should 
consider  as  chiefly  off'ended — because  of  his  Supreme 
Majesty,  and  because  every  sin  is  a  trangression  of 
his  infinitely  righteous  and  holy  law.  Hence  we  find 
that  when  David  came  to  confess  his  great  sin  in  the 
matter  of  Uriah,  he  says,  addressing  himself  to  Jeho- 
vah, "against  thee, thee  only  have  I  sinned,  and  done 
this  evil  in  thy  sight;  that  thou  mightest  be  justified 
when  thou  speakest,  and  be  clear  when  thou  judgest." 
We  are  therefore  to  apply  ourselves  directly  to  God, 
and  to  ask  of  him,  for  Christ's  sake,  to  "  acquit  us  both 
from  the  guilt  and  punishment  of  sin;"  that  is,  to  ex- 
tend to  us  his  pardonding  grace,  "  through  the  obe- 
dience and  satisfaction  of  Christ,  apprehended  and 
applied  by  faith."*  Christ  having  fully  satisfied  the 
divine  law  and  justice  in  behalf  of  every  believer,  all 
his  sins  are  blotted  out  for  the  merits'  sake  of  his 
surety  Saviour.  The  Saviour's  righteousness,  accord- 
ing to  the  express  words  of  the  holy  oracle,  is  "  unto 
and  upon  all  them  that  believe,"  not  only  to  cover 
and  conceal  all  their  offences,  but  to  ensure  to  them 
the  heavenly  inheritance. 

*  Larger  Catechism — See  the  answer  to  the  194th  question. 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  459 

In  my  lecture  on  Justification,  I  have  shown  at  some 
length,  how  sin  is  '■'■freely  pardoned,"  although  it  is 
done  entirely  on  account  of  the  imputed  righteousness 
of  Christ.  Here,  therefore,  I  shall  only  repeat  what 
is  said  by  Fisher  on  this  point,  in  considering  the  an- 
swer before  us.  He  remarks,  that  "  God's  accepting 
of  Christ  as  our  surety,  and  his  fulfilling  all  righteous- 
ness in  our  room,  were  both  of  them  acts  of  rich,  free 
and  sovereign  grace.  Therefore,  though  the  pardon 
of  our  sins  be  of  debt  to  Christ,  yet  it  is  free  to  us:" 
and  he  very  pertinently  refers  to  Ephes.  i,  7,  where 
it  is  said,  speaking  of  Christ,  "  In  whom  we  have  re- 
demption through  his  blood,  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace." 

The  answer  we  consider,  concludes  by  saying,  that 
"  we  are  the  rather  encouraged  to  ask"  forgiveness  of 
God,  "  because,  by  his  grace,  we  are  enabled,  from 
the  heart,  to  forgive  others." 

If  we  examine  the  discourses  and  sayings  of  our 
blessed  Lord,  as  recorded  in  the  evangelists,  we  shall 
find  there  is  scarcely  a  topic  on  which  he  speaks  more 
frequently,  or  more  at  large,  than  on  the  duty  of  for- 
giving those  who  have  offended  or  injured  us.  Let 
us,  therefore,  examine  into  the  nature  of  this  duty 
carefully.  Let  us  consider  what  it  does  not,  and  what 
it  does  require. 

1.  It  manifestly  does  not  require,  that  a  man  who 
has  been  offended  or  injured,  should  be  insensible  that 
such  is  the  fact.  The  very  duty  of  forgiveness  neces- 
sarily implies,  that  we  know  and  feel  that  we  have 
something  to  forgive.  We  ought  indeed  to  be  careful 
not  to  estimate  an  injury  beyond  its  real  magnitude, 
nor  to  dwell  and  muse  upon  it,  so  as  to  inflame  our 
minds,  or  fill  them  with  angry  or  revengeful  emotions. 
This  is  to  be  carefully  avoided ;  yet  we  not  only  may, 
but  ought  to  be,  sensible  of  an  offence  or  injury,  when 
it  has  plainly  and  palpably  been  offered  or  inflicted. 

2.  We  are  not  required  to  withhold  from  the  offend- 
ing party  the  knowledge  or  information,  that  we  con- 
sider him  as  having  done  us  wrong.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  a  duty  expressly  enjoined  by  our  Saviour,  to  go 


460  LECTURES    ON     THE 

to  an  offending  brother,  and  tell  him  his  fault;  at  first 
privately,  and  then,  if  we  do  not  obtain  satisfaction, 
to  take  measures  to  have  him  censured  and  disciplined. 
But  all  this  is  to  be  done,  not  vindictively,  but  so  if 
possible  as  to  "gain  our  brother;"  or,  failing  in  this, 
to  prevent  the  injury  which  might  arise  from  his  ex- 
ample. 

3.  Neither  are  we  required  to  place  confidence  in 
one  who  has  given  us  unequivocal  evidence  of  a  dis- 
position to  injure  us.  We  ought  not  to  put  ourselves 
in  his  power,  so  as  to  enable  him  to  repeat  or  add  to 
the  injury  he  has  done  us.  For  this  we  have  the  war- 
rant of  our  Saviour's  perfect  example,  who  would 
"  not  commit  himself"  to  his  enemies,  till  he  was  fully 
prepared  to  terminate  his  mission  by  his  death. 

But  4.  Our  duty  positively  and  indispensably  re- 
quires us,  to  be  ready  to  be  reconciled  to  an  offender. 
We  are  not  to  repel,  but  to  favour  and  facilitate  any 
advance  or  overture  of  the  injurious  party,  when  he 
seems  disposed  to  acknowledge  his  fault.  We  are  to 
show  that  we  are  not  hard  to  be  appeased,  not  diffi- 
cult to  be  won  to  forgiveness.  We  are  not  to  require 
the  offender  to  humble  himself  greatly,  before  we  meet 
him  for  reconciliation.  We  are  not  to  insist  on  greater 
concessions  than  are  equitable;  but  rather  to  accept 
of  less  than  might  be  exacted,  if  rigorous  justice  were 
done — provided  always,  that  we  have  evidence  of  real 
regret  for  his  wrong  doing,  and  a  disposition  to  be 
friendly,  or  not  hostile,  in  time  to  come. 

5.  We  are,  from  first  to  last,  cordially  to  forgive  the 
offender.  We  are  to  wish  him  no  evil;  we  are  to 
guard  our  hearts  against  all  hatred,  malice,  and  every 
vindictive  feeling.  We  are  to  feel  benevolently ,  to 
cherish  unfeigned  good  will  toward  our  bitterest  ene- 
my. We  are  to  desire  sincerely  that  he  may  lay  aside 
his  hostility,  and  become  reconcilable.  We  are  to 
pray  earnestly  that  God  may  bring  him  to  repentance, 
and  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  forgive  him  freely — forgive 
the  injury  he  has  done  to  us,  and  the  much  greater 
offence  which  he  has  committed  against  God,  by  his 
flagrant  violation  of  the  law  of  love,  and  the  sacred 


SHORTEK     CATECHISM.  461 

principle  of  doing  as  he  wonld  be  done  by.  Of  all 
this,  our  adored  Redeemer,  you  know,  exhibited  a 
most  wonderful  instance,  in  his  prayer  for  his  murder- 
ers in  his  expiring  moments:  and  there  was  a  close 
imitation  of  this  high  example,  in  the  first  Christian 
martyr,  Stephen.  Happy  they,  who  feel  and  exhibit 
the  same  likeness  to  their  Redeemer  which  Stephen 
did,  in  performing  a  duty  so  contrary  to  the  naturally 
proud  and  resentful  human  heart. 

Yes,  my  young  friends,  I  must  here  repeat,  what 
was  mentioned  in  a  former  lecture,  that  in  praying 
God  to  "  forgive  us  our  debts  as  we  forgive  our  debt- 
ors," the  particle  as  must  be  considered  as  expressing 
likeness  and  not  equality.  Alas!  all  that  we  do  is 
imperfect;  and  if  God  did  not  remit  our  sins,  more 
purely,  perfectly  and  freely,  than  we  remit  those  of 
our  offending  brethren,  we  should  never  escape  con- 
demnation. Still,  this  is  never  to  be  made  a  plea, 
even  for  the  imperfection  of  our  forgiveness.  We  are 
to  mourn  the  imperfection,  and  earnestly  strive  to 
avoid  it.  Then  we  shall  have  the  "encouragement" 
mentioned  in  the  answer  before  us — the  encourage- 
ment which  is  derived  from  evidence,  that  we  have 
been  made  partakers  of  the  renewing  and  sanctifying 
grace  of  God;  for  it  is  this  alone,  that  will  ever  en- 
able any  one  rightly  to  discharge  the  duty  which  has 
now  been  explained — A  duty  in  which  we  make  no 
atonement  for  our  sins,  and  can  plead  no  merit  for  its 
performance;  but  which,  when  properly  performed, 
gives  proof  that  we  have,  by  divine  grace,  been  em- 
bued  with  a  portion  of  the  spirit  and  mind  of  Christ; 
and  consequently,  may  cheerfully  hope  that  we  shall 
be  made  partakers  of  all  the  benefits  of  his  great  sal- 
vation. 


462  LECTURES     ON    THE 


LECTURE  LXXVII. 


In  the  sixth  petition  of  the  Lord's  prayer,  which  is, 
**'And  lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  dehver  us  from 
evil,"  our  Catechism  teaches  us,  that  "  we  pray  that 
God  would  either  keep  us  from  being  tempted  to  sin,  or 
support  and  deliver  us  when  we  are  tempted."  This 
answer  is  in  accordance  with  an  explicit  promise,  made 
in  the  Scriptures  of  truth  to  the  people  of  God,  in  the 
following  words — "  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suffer 
you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able,  but  will 
with  the  temptation  also  make  a  way  to  escape,  that 
ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it."  It  is  in  answer  to  prayer, 
it  should  always  be  remembered,  that  God  is  wont  to 
fulfil  the  promises  he  has  made  to  his  children.  If 
they  neglect  to  ask  the  things  which  he  has  promised, 
he  usually  teaches  them  their  duty  by  withholding 
the  stipulated  benefit,  till  its  loss  brings  them  to  cry 
to  him  earnestly,  both  for  the  pardon  of  their  sin  in 
neglecting  to  ask  that  they  might  receive,  and  for  the 
conferring  of  the  favour  which,  on  account  of  their 
neglect,  has  been  justly  withheld:  and  when  brought 
to  this  temper,  they  again  experience,  perhaps  in  a 
more  signal  manner  than  ever  before,  the  fulfilment 
of  a  promise  which  had  seemed  to  fail. 

It  is  important,  my  young  friends,  that  you  should 
understand,  that  the  verb  to  iempt^  has  two  distinct 
and  very  different  meanings,  in  our  translation  of  the 
Bible — otherwise,  the  holy  Scriptures  may  appear  to 
contradict  themselves.  In  Genesis  xxii.  1,  it  is  said 
explicitly,  "that  God  did  tempt  Abraham;"  and  in 
James  i.  13,  it  is  declared,  in  the  same  unequivocal 
manner,  that  "  God  cannot  be  tempted  of  evil,  neither 
tempteth  he  any  man."  You  will  observe  then,  that 
in  the  first  of  these  instances,  the  verb  to  tempt  is  of 
the  same  meaning  as  the  words  to  prove,  to  try,  to  put 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  463 

to  the  test.  Thus  when  Abraham  was  commanded 
to  offer  up  his  son,  which  was  the  thing  in  which  it 
is  said  God  tempted  him,  the  faith  and  obedience  of 
Abraham  were  tried,  jmt  to  the  proof,  or  test,  by 
requiring  him  to  do  an  act  to  which  the  most  power- 
ful objections  would  arise,  in  any  mind  not  in  the 
possession  of  the  most  vigorous  faith  and  unbounded 
confidence  in  God.  But  in  the  second  instance,  the 
verb  to  tempt,  is  used  in  its  more  common  significa- 
tion, which  is,  to  entice,  to  seduce,  to  allure  into  error, 
vice,  or  sin,  by  placing  objects  or  considerations  before 
the  view  of  the  mind,  which  may  have  a  powerful 
tendency  to  produce  such  an  effect.  Now,  in  this 
sense  of  the  word,  God  can  never  be  tempted;  he  is 
incapable  of  being  enticed,  seduced,  or  allured  to  any 
evil;  and  he  is  equally  incapable,  from  the  perfect 
purity  and  holiness  of  his  nature,  of  producing  such 
an  effect  on  others,  by  any  direct  influence  on  their 
minds;  or  by  entrapping  or  ensnaring  them,  when 
they  are  desirous  to  avoid  evil,  and  have  used  their 
endeavours  and  sought  his  aid,  that  they  might  escape 
it.  Yet  when  men  have  not  done  this,  but  on  the  con- 
trary have  chosen  and  sought  evil,  and  have  refused 
his  instructions,  admonitions,  warnings,  and  reproofs, 
he  may  justly  leave  them  to  be  overcome  by  the  temp- 
tations which  they  have  sought,  and  loved,  and  com- 
plied with;  yea,  he  may,  in  his  righteous  displeasure, 
so  order  his  providential  dealings,  that  they  will  be 
tempted  even  to  their  certain  perdition. 

It  is  against  this  fearful  divine  dereliction,  that  the 
petition  under  consideration,  "  lead  us  not  into  temp- 
tation, but  deliver  us  from  evil,"  is  pointedly  and  es- 
pecially directed.  "Abandon  us  not  to  temptation," 
is  Campbell's  translation  of  the  first  part  of  this  peti- 
tion; and  he  shows,  I  think  conclusively,  that  the 
original  words*  have  this  import  in  other  passages 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  ought  to  be  so  understood 
in  the  Lord's  prayer.  "  My  brethren,  says  the  apos- 
tle James,  count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers 
temptations,"  and  the  reason  immediately  follows, 


464  LECTURES    ON     THE 

"  knowing  this,  that  the  trial  of  your  faith  worketh 
patience:"  and  in  the  sequel  he  adds,  "  Blessed  is  the 
man  that  endureth  temptation,  for  when  he  is  tried, 
he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life  which  the  Lord  hath 
promised  to  them  that  love  him."  Now,  as  the  pro- 
vidence of  God  directs  and  orders  all  the  events  of  our 
lives,  he  may  be  said  to  lead  us  into  temptation, 
when  he  permits  us  to  fall  into  it;  and  this  may  be 
done  in  mercy,  knowing  that  the  temptation,  by  grace 
and  strength  derived  from  him,  will  be  overcome,  as 
it  was  in  the  case  of  Abraham;  and  that  our  crown 
of  eternal  life,  like  his,  will  be  the  more  glorious,  as  the 
reward  of  the  victory  achieved.  But  to  be  abandoned 
to  temptation — to  be  left  not  merely  to  fall  into  if, 
but  to  fall  before  it,  to  be  overcome  by  it,  and  to  abide 
under  its  power,  unreclaimed,  and  without  deliver- 
ance or  help  from  God,  this  indeed  is  awful  beyond 
all  expression — it  is  to  be  judicially  left  to  certain  and 
eternal  ruin. 

Having  thus  given  a  general,  and  I  would  hope 
sufficient  explanation  of  the  petition  demanding  con- 
sideration at  this  time,  I  will  call  your  attention  to  a 
number  of  particulars,  in  which  a  somewhat  compre- 
hensive, and  yet  summary  view,  shall  be  given  of  the 
subject  of  temptation,  which  is  one  of  great  practical 
importance. 

1.  We  are  always  to  avoid  temptation  as  much  as 
we  can,  without  neglecting,  refusing,  or  deserting  our 
duty.  Whoever  rushes  carelessly,  or  unnecessarily 
into  temptation,  has  no  reason  to  expect  that  he  will 
escape  without  injury;  far  less  can  he  reasonably 
hope  to  avoid  even  gross  sin,  if,  as  it  has  sometimes 
been  expressed,  "  he  tempts  the  devil  to  tempt  him;" 
that  is,  seeks  for  scenes  or  objects  of  temptation,  to 
gratify  an  unhallowed  curiosity,  or  rather,  (as  I  sus- 
pect in  such  a  case  is  always  the  fact)  is  prompted 
by  the  desire  of  indulging,  m,entally  at  least,  in  the 
sin  to  which  he  knows  he  will  be  allured.  In  a  word, 
we  are  never  voluntarily,  and  of  choice,  to  expose 
ourselves  to  any  temptation,  but  on  the  contrary,  to 
avoid  it  by  all  proper  precautions.     Hence  we  ought 


SHORTER     CATECHISM.  465 

not  to  think  it  an  extreme,  if  admonished  carefully  to 
consider  our  constitutional  make,  to  know  what  are 
the  transgressions  to  wliich  we  are  most  prone,  that 
we  may  with  peculiar  vigilance  guard  against  provo- 
catives to  easily  besetting  sins.  This  is  a  considera- 
tion that  should  have  influence  on  youth,  in  choosing 
a  trade  or  profession,  and  even  on  those  who  are 
thinking  of  offering  themselves  as  missionaries,  when 
they  examine  into  their  qualifications  for  the  under- 
taking they  contemplate.  The  inquiry  should  be, 
will  not  the  course  of  life  on  which  I  think  of  enter- 
ing, expose  me  to  temptations,  to  a  compliance  with 
which  I  am,  from  constitutional  make,  or  some  other 
cause,  peculiarly  prone.  But  on  the  other  hand,  when- 
ever in  the  providence  of  God,  without  our  seeking, 
and  contrary  to  our  choice,  "  we  fall  into  temptation," 
and  plain  and  important  duty  requires  us  to  meet  it, 
we  ought  to  look  to  God  for  special  aid,  and  go  for- 
ward with  determined  resolution. 

2.  It  ought  to  be  habitually  impressed  on  our  minds, 
that  we  are  not  sufficient  of  ourselves  to  resist  any 
temptation.  It  has  been  justly  observed,  that  the  foul 
transgressions  of  eminent  saints,  of  which  we  read  in 
sacred  story,  took  place  by  the  commission  of  sins  to 
which  we  should  suppose  they,  of  all  men,  were  the 
least  exposed — as  Moses,  the  meekest  of  men,  sinned 
by  intemperate  anger;  Abraham  the  father  of  the 
faithful,  by  a  distrust  of  the  providence  of  God;  and 
so  of  several  others.  The  truth  is,  that  as  through 
Christ  strengthening  them,  his  people  can  do  all  things, 
so  without  him  they  can  do  nothing.  Hence  they  are 
taught,  in  all  things  to  distrust  themselves;  and  to  be 
sensible  of  their  insufficiency,  without  divine  aid,  for 
any  good  work,  or  for  the  avoidance  even  of  enor- 
mous sins;  and  to  look  constantly  to  him  to  uphold 
and  guard  them — thus  showing,  that  "  when  they  are 
weak  then  they  are  strong'^ — strong,  not  in  themselves, 
but  "in  the  grace  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus." 

3.  In  connexion  with  what  has  just  been  said,  it  is 
proper  to  notice  what  has  been  called  tempting  God. 
"  Men  tempt  God,  when  they  unseasonably  and  ir- 


466  LECTURES    ON    THE 

reverently  require  proofs  of  his  presence,  power,  and 
goodness;  when  they  expose  themselves  to  danger 
from  which  they  cannot  escape,  without  the  miracu- 
lous interposition  of  his  providence;  and  when  they 
sin  with  such  boldness  as  if  they  wanted  to  try  whether 
God  could,  or  would,  know  and  punish  them."*  Good 
men  may  commit  this  sin  by  expecting  extraordinary 
interpositions  in  their  favour,  beyond  what  God  in 
his  word  has  authorized  them  to  expect.  But  none 
except  the  most  impious  and  abandoned,  can  do  that 
which  is  last  mentioned  by  the  author  I  have  quoted. 

4.  It  is  of  importance  to  remember,  that  when  a 
temptation  solicits  or  assaults,  if  we  would  have  any 
rational  prospect  of  withstanding  it  ultimately,  it  must 
be  resisted  at  once,  and  with  the  most  decisive  reso- 
lution and  effort.  Indeed,  all  dallying  with  tempta- 
tion, as  I  have  elsewhere  shown,  is  sinful  in  itself; 
and  it  may  provoke  God  to  withhold,  or  withdraw, 
that  gracious  influence,  without  which  we  are  sure  to 
fall.  Let  a  temptation,  whether  it  be  alluring  or  ter- 
rifying, get  possession  of  the  fancy  and  the  feelings, 
and  its  full  prevalence  is  all  but  certain.  On  this  point, 
let  me  recommend  to  your  review  and  careful  atten- 
tion, what  I  have  said  in  my  fifteenth  lecture,  on  the 
temptation  by  which  our  first  mother  was  fatally  se- 
duced. 

5.  The  sources  of  temptation  are  the  world,  the 
flesh,  and  the  devil.  The  world,  proves  a  source  of 
temptation  both  from  the  good  and  the  evil  which  we 
may  meet  with,  in  our  progress  through  it.  The 
profits,  pleasures,  and  emoluments  of  the  world,  often 
prove  a  snare  and  the  occasion  of  sin.  Hence  we 
should  pray  with  the  Psalmist,  that  God  would  "in- 
cline our  hearts  unto  his  testimonies,  and  not  unto 
covetousness,"  and  that  he  would  dispose  and  enable 
us,  agreeably  to  the  apostolical  injunction,  "to  set  our 
afljections  on  things  above,  and  not  on  things  on  the 
earth."  The  dismaying  evils  of  the  world  which 
may  prove  temptations,  are  the  outward  troubles  and 

*  Brown's  Dictionary,  under  the  word  te7nj>t. 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  467 

afflictions  which  we  meet  with  in  it — poverty,  perse- 
cution, the  death  of  friends  and  relatives,  loss  of  repu- 
tation, and  sometimes  of  life  itself,  "  In  the  world," 
said  our  Saviour,  "ye  shall  have  tribulation."  When 
we  are  exercised  with  temptations  of  this  description, 
we  should  think  much  of  what  Christ  our  Saviour 
endured  for  us,  and  how  little,  in  the  comparison,  we 
are  called  to  suffer  for  our  fidelit}'-  to  him;  and  we 
should  pray  that  our  outward  afflictions  may  be  "for 
our  profit,  that  we  may  be  partakers  of  his  holiness," 
and  that  we  may  neither  "despise  the  chastening  of 
the  Lord,  nor  faint  when  we  are  rebuked  of  him," 

The  flesh,  that  is  our  corrupt  and  depraved  nature, 
is  also  a  fruitful  source  of  temptation.  In  the  fifth 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  the  apostle 
gives  a  catalogue  of  "  the  works  of  the  flesh,"  and  sets 
these  in  contrast  with  "the  fruit  of  the  Spirit."  He 
shows  that  in  every  sanctified  soul  there  is  a  constant 
conflict  between  these  opposing  principles.  His  direc- 
tion is,  "walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the 
lust  of  the  flesh;"  and  he  declares  that  "  they  that  are 
Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  the  aff'ections  and 
lusts."  It  is  with  his  corrupt  nature  that  every  be- 
liever has  his  longest  and  sorest  conflicts;  and  his  con- 
stant prayer  should  be,  for  those  supplies  of  grace 
from  the  fulness  of  Christ,  by  which  he  may  at  length 
be  brought  ofl"a  conqueror  and  more  than  a  conqueror, 
over  these  dangerous  enemies  of  his  soul. 

Satan,  is  by  way  of  eminence,  denominated  "the 
Tempter."  He  was  so  called  emphatically,  when  he 
assaulted  Christ  in  the  wilderness.  He  began  to  act 
in  this  hateful  character  when  he  assailed  our  first 
parents  in  Paradise,  and  he  has  been  making  his  as- 
saults upon  all  ranks  of  mankind  ever  since.  "  Be 
sober,  be  vigilant,  says  the  apostle  Peter;  because 
your  adversary  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh 
about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  But  it  should 
never  be  forgotten,  that  Satan  has  no  direct  control 
over  the  human  will;  he  cannot  force  or  compel  us, 
to  yield  to  his  temptations.  Hence  the  direction,  "re- 
sist the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you."     Yet  the 


468  LECTURES    ON    THE 

arts  and  wiles  of  our  great  adversary  are  such,  that  if 
he  were  not  Hmited  and  controlled  by  God,  he  would 
doubtless  succeed  in  his  attempts  to  destroy  imperfect 
man,  since  he  found  the  means  of  seducing  the  parents 
of  our  race,  when  they  had  no  imperfection.  But 
Christ,  our  Saviour,  was  "  revealed  to  destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil;"  and  to  the  blessed  Redeemer 
we  should  especially  and  directly  apply  for  protection 
and  deliverance,  when  temptations  come  more  imme- 
diately from  the  great  enemy  of  God  and  man.  This 
was  the  counsel  of  Luther.  He  advises  that  under 
the  manifest  assaults,  suggestions,  and  injections  of 
our  adversary  the  devil,  we  should  pray  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  that  is,  to  God  in  Christ,  directly,  spe- 
cially, and  solely,  for  his  interposition  and  succour; 
since  he  was  tempted  in  all  points  as  we  are,  yet 
without  sin,  and  is  able  to  succour  those  who  are 
tempted.  Doubtless,  Satan  is  ever  ready  and  con- 
stantly engaged  to  enforce,  as  far  as  he  is  permitted, 
every  temptation  that  assails  us,  from  whatever  quar- 
ter it  may  arise.  But  there  are  some  temptations, 
and  of  the  most  terrific  kind,  sometimes  called  "  fiery 
darts  of  the  devil,"  which  seem  to  proceed  immedi- 
ately from  this  fearful  enemy.  A  flood  of  blasphemous, 
strange,  horrible,  dismaying,  and  almost  overwhelm- 
ing thoughts,  or,  as  I  would  rather  call  them,  imagi- 
nations, are  sometimes  poured  in  on  the  soul.  Some- 
times such  thoughts,  in  a  more  separate  and  uncon- 
nected manner,  rise  up  in  the  mind,  or  are  suddenly 
and  unaccountably  darted  into  it;  and  having  once 
entered,  they  are  renewed  from  day  to  day,  till  the 
sufferer  is  harassed  and  tormented  almost  beyond  en- 
durance; and  perhaps  is  distressed  with  the  appre- 
hension of  having  committed  the  unpardonable  sin, 
and  is  even  tempted  to  self-destruction.  Individuals 
of  a  melancholy  temperament,  or  of  a  nervous  habit, 
are  most  frequently  afflicted  with  this  calamity,  and 
commonly  to  the  greatest  degree ;  but  persons  of  every 
kind  of  constitutional  make,  and  some  of  the  most  vi- 
gorous health  and  best  spirits,  are  not  always  free 
from  a  measure  of  these  most  distressing  mental  af- 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  469 

fections.  Nor  are  persons  of  the  most  eminent  piety 
exempted  from  them.  On  the  contrary,  persons  of 
this  character  have  often  been  pecuUarly  subject  to 
this  class  of  temptations. 

In  regard  to  this  great  affliction,  the  first  thing  to 
be  observed  in  seeking  relief,  is  to  recollect,  and  keep 
it  in  mind,  that  temptation,  considered  by  itself,  is  not 
sin.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "  who  did  no  sin,"  was 
tempted  by  Satan ;  nor  can  we  easily  conceive  of  more 
horrible  suggestions,  than  those  of  worshipping  the 
devil,  and  of  plunging  down  a  precipice;  and  yet  these 
were  among  the  temptations  of  our  blessed  Lord. 
These  thoughts,  or  imaginations,  therefore,  so  long 
as  they  are  promptly  resisted,  rejected,  and  abhorred, 
are  not  sinful.  The  next  thing  to  be  remembered  is, 
that  we  cannot  reason  them  away.  "  To  attempt  to 
think  them  down  is  madness,"  said  Dr.  Johnson,  to 
one  who  consulted  him  on  the  subject.  To  the  same 
eifect  precisely,  was  the  opinion  of  Luther;  and  in- 
deed of  all  who  have  written  most  discreetly  on  the 
subject.  The  great  point  to  be  carried,  is  to  prevent 
them  from  being  brought  before  the  view  of  the  mind, 
and  as  much  as  possible  to  disregard  them,  and  not 
even  to  notice  them  distinctly,  when  they  do  occur. 
All  recalling  of  them,  or  thinking  them  over — to 
which  there  is  often  a  strange  propensity — is  to  renew 
their  impression  and  increase  their  strength.  The 
plain  duty  of  the  afflicted  party  therefore  is,  to  lift  up 
the  heart  in  fervent  aspirations  to  the  once  tempted 
and  now  glorified  Redeemer,  for  his  protection — for 
grace  and  strength  to  endure  the  trial  while  it  lasts, 
and  to  grant  deliverance  in  his  own  time  and  way; 
and  then  immediately  to  occupy  the  mind  vigorously 
with  some  lawful  object  or  pursuit.  Idleness  and 
solitude  are  to  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible.  "  Be 
not  solitary,  be  not  idle,"  was  the  summary  advice  of 
Burton,  in  his  "Anatomy  of  Melancholy,"  which  Dr. 
Johnson  thought  should  be  amended  thus — "  Be  not 
solitary  when  you  are  idle,  be  not  idle  when  you  are 
solitary."  By  the  observance  of  these  directions,  and 
a  resolute  and  persevering  adherence  to  them,  the 


470 


LECTURES    ON    THE 


temptations  we  consider  will  at  length  vanish  without 
injury;  nay,  it  may  be,  with  lasting  benefit  to  the 
afflicted  party.  The  excellent  John  Newton,  in  a 
letter  to  one  who,  under  the  distress  we  contemplate, 
asked  his  advice,  makes  a  remark  to  this  effect — that 
however  horrible  and  dismaying  these  temptations 
seem,  while  they  last,  yet  after  they  are  removed, 
they  leave  no  scar  upon  the  conscience.  Such  cer- 
tainly has  been  my  own  observation,  in  the  cases — 
considerable  in  number — on  which  I  have  been  con- 
sulted, and  my  advice  requested.  It  is  by  sap  and 
mine,  far  more  frequently  than  by  these  furious  as- 
saults, that  the  great  adversary  of  souls  effects  his 
purposes.  It  is  by  promoting,  by  every  means  in  his 
power,  carelessness,  gradual  backsliding,  a  worldly 
spirit,  neglect  of  watchfulness,  and  the  conscientious 
discharge  of  duty,  that  he  gains  an  advantage  against 
the  professed  disciples  of  Christ;  and  it  is  by  artful 
and  gradual  seductions  into  flagrant  sin,  or  by  endea- 
vouring to  keep  them  in  carnal  security,  or  a  delusive 
contentment,  derived  from  purposes  of  future  amend- 
ment and  repentance,  that  he  ensures,  most  frequently 
and  certainly,  the  eternal  perdition  of  unregenerate 
sinners.  With  warning  you,  therefore,  my  young 
friends,  in  the  most  solemn  manner  against  these  ar- 
tifices of  the  great  tempter  and  deceiver,  I  close  my 
discussion  of  the  sixth  petition  of  the  Lord's  prayer; 
and  proceed  immediately  to  a  brief  consideration  of 
its  conclusion — 

This  conclusion  is  thus  expressed:  "For  thine  is 
the  kingdom  and  the  power  and  the  glory  for  ever, 
Amen,"  In  these  words,  according  to  our  Catechism, 
"  we  are  taught  to  take  our  encouragement  in  prayer 
from  God  only,  and  in  our  prayers  to  praise  him,  as- 
cribing kingdom,  power  and  glory  to  him:  and  in  tes- 
timony of  our  desires  and  assurance  to  be  heard,  we 
say,  Amen," 

The  word  for,  with  which  the  conclusion  of  the 
Lord's  prayer  is  introduced,  intimates  that  what  im- 
mediately follows  is  to  be  considered  as  a  conclusive 
reason,  why  every  petition  of  this  inimitable  prayer 


SHORTER    CATECHISM.  47 1 

may  properly  be  offered  up  to  God, and  why  the  answer 
of  the  petitions  nfiay  be  expected  by  every  truly  de- 
vout worshipper:  and  need  any  thing  be  said  to  show 
the  force  and  sutficiency  of  the  reason  thus  assigned? 
Surely  a  Being  who  is  the  Sovereign  of  the  universe, 
infinite  in  power,  and  whose  glory  transcends  all  con- 
ception, and  which  will  endure  to  eternal  ages,  must 
be  the  proper,  and  the  only  proper  object,  of  supreme 
worship,  adoration  and  praise;  and  the  source  also 
from  which  his  dependent  creatures  may  expect,  in 
the  way  of  his  own  appointment,  a  gracious  answer 
to  all  their  reasonable  requests,  and  the  supply  of  all 
their  real  wants.  But  let  us  dwell  for  a  moment,  on 
each  of  the  clauses  in  the  answer  now  under  consi- 
deration. 

1.  We  are  "to  take  our  encouragement  in  prayer 
from  God  only."  Since  God  is  the  only  proper  ob- 
ject of  religious  worship,  if  he  has  pointed  out  a  par- 
ticular way  and  manner  in  which  our  approach  to 
him  may  be  acceptably  made,  it  is  plain  that  all  our 
encouragement  to  hope  for  a  favourable  hearing  and 
answer  of  our  requests,  must  be  taken  from  a  com- 
pliance with  his  prescribed  order.  If  we  adopt  any 
method  of  access  to  him,  different  from  what  he  has 
prescribed,  so  far  from  having  reason  to  hope  for  a 
gracious  audience  and  acceptance,  we  have  every 
ground  to  expect  his  frowns,  and  the  rejection  of  our 
petitions.  Now,  God  in  his  holy  word  has  taught  us 
in  what  manner  we  are  to  approach  him  in  prayer. 
We  are  to  regard  him  as  the  only  living  and  true 
God — abhorring  all  idols,  and  all  participation  of  any 
creature  with  him  in  religious  homage.  We  are  also 
to  come  to  him  through  the  mediation  and  interces- 
sion of  Christ  alone — rejecting  all  other  mediators  and 
intercessors,  of  whatever  character  or  rank.  We  are, 
moreover,  to  come  humbly  confessing  our  sins,  and  in 
the  exercise  of  true  faith  in  his  promises  of  forgive- 
ness, and  justification  unto  eternal  life,  through  the 
atoning  blood  and  perfect  righteousness  of  his  Son, 
and  the  renovating  and  sanctifying  influence  of  his 
Holy  Spirit.     Those,  therefore,  who  deny  the  media- 


472  LECTURES     ON     THE 

tion  of  Christ;  those  who  look  to  any  other  mediator 
than  to  him  alone;  and  those  who  mention,  or  rely- 
in  any  measure  on  their  own  merits,  or  on  any  hu- 
man merit,  to  recommend  them  to  God — oppose  his 
prescribed  way  of  access  and  address,  and  adopt  one 
of  their  own,  which  he  will  never  regard,  or  treat 
with  any  thing  but  rejection  and  abhorrence. 

2.  In  our  prayers  to  God  we  are  to  praise  him. 
That  thanksgiving  and  praise  to  God  constitute  an 
essential  and  most  delightful  part  of  prayer,  I  have 
heretofore  distinctly  and  fully  shown.  I  need  there- 
fore only  here  remark,  that  in  ascribing  "  kingdom, 
power,  and  glory  to  God,  this  itself  is  a  high  act  of 
praise,  and  that  this  was  what  was  intended  in  the 
answer  we  consider.  To  show  this  very  summarily, 
I  remark,  that  when  we  say  "thine  is  the  kingdom," 
we  ascribe  eternal  and  absolute  sovereignty  over  the 
whole  universe  of  material  and  immaterial  beings  to 
God,  as  the  great  "  I  AM:"  that  when  we  say  "  thine 
is  the  power,"  we  acknowledge  his  omnipotence;  that 
he  is  not  only  the  Creator  and  upholder  of  all  things, 
but  that  nothing  is  too  hard  for  him  to  effect;  that  his 
counsel  shall  stand,  and  that  he  will  do  all  his  plea- 
sure: that  when  we  say  "  thine  is  the  glory,"  we  ac- 
knowledge "  that  he  is  possessed  of  all  those  excel- 
lencies that  render  him  glorious  in  the  eyes  of  men 
and  angels;  and  that  the  praise  and  honour  of  every 
thing  that  is  great  and  excellent,  or  has  a  tendency  to 
raise  our  esteem  and  admiration,  is  due  to  him."  And 
we  recognise  the  truth,  that  this  kingdom,  power,  and 
glory,  all  belong  to  God,  in  the  word  "  forever;"  that 
is,  he  will  possess  them,  without  any  intermission  or 
diminution,  to  all  eternity. 

3.  In  testimony  of  our  desire  and  assurance  to  be 
heard,  we  say  Amen.  The  word  Jimen  is  a  purely 
Hebrew  term  (p«)  which  denotes  firmness,  certainty, 
fidelity.  In  devotional  exercises,  this  word  signifies 
both  so  he  it,  and  so  it  is;  and  both  these  meanings 
we  are  taught  to  give  it  in  the  answer  before  us;  the 
former,  as  a  testimony  of  our  desire,  and  the  latter  as 
the  expression  of  our  assurance  that  we  shall  be 


SHORTER      CATECHISM.  473 

heard.  Now  the  use  of  the  word  will  be  the  testi- 
mony of  our  desire,  when  "  by  faith  we  are  embold- 
ened to  plead  with  God  that  he  would  fulfil  our  re- 
quests;"* and  it  will  be  the  expression  of  assurance 
to  be  heard,  when,  in  the  same  exercise  of  faith,  "we 
quietly  rely  upon  him,"  to  grant  us  what  we  ask  in 
accordance  with  his  holy  will.  It  was,  therefore,  with 
a  striking  propriety,  that  the  whole  canon  of  scripture 
was  concluded  with  the  repeated  use  of  this  signifi- 
cant term — "  He  which  testifieth  these  things  saith, 
surely  I  come  quickly.  Amen.  Even  so  come  Lord 
Jesus.  The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with 
you  all.    Amen." 

And  thus,  beloved  youth,  I  close  not  only  this  lec- 
ture, but  the  whole  of  those  which  I  have  delivered 
to  you  on  our  excellent  Shorter  Catechism — thank- 
fully acknowledging  the  goodness  of  God,  that  he  has 
spared  me  and  strengthened  me,  to  complete  this  la- 
borious undertaking — the  most  important,  it  may  be, 
of  my  ministerial  life,  and  on  which  I  earnestly  im- 
plore his  blessing — hoping  that  not  only  while  I  live, 
but  when  my  body  shall  have  returned  to  its  native 
dust,  these  lectures  may  remain,  as  my  testimony  to 
his  holy  truth;  and  praying  that  through  his  conde- 
scending and  superabonnding  grace,  he  may  make 
them,  with  all  their  imperfections,  the  humble  instru- 
ment, in  his  own  Almighty  hand,  of  bringing  many 
sons  and  daughters  unto  glory,  with  whom  the  author 
may  be  permitted  to  rejoice,  and  say,  "  Here  am  I, 
and  the  children  thou  hast  given  me."  Amen  and 
Amen. 

*  Larger  Catechism. 


VOL.  II. — 31 


QUESTIONS  AND  COUNSEL, 

FOR    THOSE    WHO   HOPE    THAT   A    WORK   OF   SAVING    GRACE   HAS    BEEN 
WROUGHT    UPON    THEIR    HEARTS. 

BY  REV.  ASHBEL  GREEN,  D.  D. 


QUESTIONS. 

1.  Have  you  seen  yourself  to  be,  by  nature  and  by  practice,  a 
lost  and  helpless  sinner?  Have  you  not  only  seen  the  sinfulness  of 
particular  acts  of  transgression,  but  also  that  your  heart  is  the  seat 
and  fountain  of  sin? — That  in  you,  naturally,  there  is  no  good  thing? 
Has  a  view  of  this  led  you  to  despair  of  help  from  yourself? — To  see 
that  you  must  be  altogether  indebted  to  Christ  for  salvation,  and  to 
the  gracious  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  strength  and  ability  rightly  to 
perform  any  duty? 

2.  On  what  has  your  hope  of  acceptance  with  God  been  founded  7 
On  your  reformation?  on  your  sorrow  for  your  sins  ?  on  your  prayers  ? 
on  your  tears  ?  on  your  good  works  and  religious  observances  ?  or 
has  it  been  on  Christ  alone,  as  your  all  in  all  ?  Has  Christ  ever  ap- 
peared very  precious  to  you  '  Do  you  mourn  that  he  does  not  appear 
more  so?  Have  you  sometimes  felt  great  freedom  to  commit  your 
soul  to  him  ?  In  doing  this,  (if  you  have  done  it)  has  it  been,  not 
only  to  be  delivered  from  the  punishment  due  to  your  sins,  but  also 
from  the  power,  pollution,  dominion,  and  existence  of  sin  in  your  soul? 

3.  As  far  as  you  know  yourself,  do  you  hate,  and  desire  to  be  de- 
livered from  all  sin — without  any  exception  of  a  favourite  lust?  Do 
you  pray  much  to  be  delivered  from  sin  ?  Do  you  watch  against  it, 
and  against  temptation  to  it?  Do  you  strive  against  it,  and  in  some 
good  degree  get  the  victory  over  it?  Have  you  so  repented  of  it  as  to 
have  your  soul  really  set  against  it? 

4.  Have  you  counted  the  cost  of  following  Christ,  or  of  being  truly 
religious  ?  That  it  will  cut  you  off  from  vain  amusements,  from  the 
indulgence  of  your  lusts,  and  from  a  sinful  conformity  to  the  world? 
That  it  may  expose  you  to  ridicule  and  contempt;  possibly  to  more 
serious  persecution?  In  the  view  of  all  these  things,  are  you  willing 
to  take  up  the  cross,  and  to  follow  Christ,  whithersoever  he  shall  lead 
you  ?  Is  it  your  solemn  purpose,  in  reliance  on  his  grace  and  aid,  to 
cleave  to  him,  and  to  his  cause  and  people,  to  the  end  of  life  ? 

5.  Do  you  love  holiness?  Do  you  earnestly  desire  to  be  more  and 
more  conformed  to  a  holy  God,  and  to  his  holy  law?  to  bear  more 
and  more  the  likeness  of  your  Redeemer?  Do  you  seek,  and  some- 
times find  communion  with  your  God  and  Saviour  ? 

6.  Are  you  resolved,  in  God's  strength,  to  endeavour  conscientiously 
to  perform  your  whole  duty — to  God,  to  your  neighbour,  and  to  your- 
self? Do  you  perform  common  and  relative  duties  conscientiously, 
as  a  part  of  the  duty  which  you  owe  to  God? 

7.  Do  you  make  conscience  of  secret  prjiyer  daily?  Do  you  not 
sometimes  feel  a  backwardness  to  this  duty  ?  Do  you  at  other  times 
feel  a  great  delight  in  it  ^  Have  you  a  set  time,  and  place,  and  order 
of  exercises,  for  performing  this  duty? 

8.  Do  you  daily  read  a  portion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  a  devout 


QUESTIONS      AND     COUNSEL.  475 

manner  ?  Do  you  love  to  read  the  Bible  ?  Do  you  ever  perceive  a 
sweetness  in  the  truths  of  Holy  Scripture  ?  Do  you  find  them  adapt- 
ed to  your  necessities,  and  see,  at  times,  a  wonderful  beauty,  excel- 
lence, and  glory,  in  God's  word  ?  Do  you  make  it  the  man  of  your 
counsel,  and  endeavour  to  have  both  your  heart  and  life  conformed  to 
its  doctrines  and  requisitions? 

9.  Have  you  ever  attempted  to  covenant  with  God  ?  To  give  your- 
self away  to  him,  solemnly  and  irrevocably,  hoping  for  acceptance 
through  Christ  alone ;  and  taking  God,  in  Christ,  as  the  covenant  God, 
and  satisfying  portion  of  your  soul? 

10.  Does  the  glory  of  God  ever  appear  to  you  as  the  first,  greatest, 
and  best  of  all  objects  ?  Do  you  desire  to  promote  the  glory  of  God, 
as  the  chief  object  of  life  ? 

11.  Do  you  feel  a  love  to  mankind,  such  as  you  did  not  former- 
ly feel  ?  Have  you  a  great  desire  that  the  souls  of  men  should  be 
saved,  by  being  brought  to  a  genuine  faith  and  trust  in  the  Redeem- 
er ?  Do  you  love  God's  people  with  a  peculiar  attachment,  because 
they  bear  their  Saviour's  image,  and  because  they  love  and  pursue 
the  objects,  and  delight  in  the  exercises,  which  are  most  pleasing  and 
deligiitful  to  yom'self  ?  Do  you  from  your  heart  forgive  all  your  per- 
sonal enemies,  and  refuse  to  cherish  or  entertain  any  sentiment  of 
hatred  or  revenge  ?  If  you  have  injured  any  person,  have  you  made 
reparation,  or  are  you  ready  and  willing  to  n|ake  it  ? 

12.  Do  you  feel  it  to  be  very  important  to  adorn  religion  by  a  holy, 
exemplary,  amiable,  and  blameless  walk  and  conversation?  Do  you 
fear  to  bring  a  reproach  on  the  cause  of  Christ  ?  Does  this  appear  to 
you  extremely  dreadful?  Are  you  afraid  of  backsliding,  and  of  being 
left  to  return  to  a  state  of  carelessness  and  indifference  in  religion  ? 

13.  Do  you  desire  and  endeavour  to  grow  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  your  Saviour,  more  and  more  ?  Are  you  willing 
to  sit  at  his  feet  as  a  little  child,  and  to  submit  your  reason  and  under- 
standing implicitly  to  his  teaching;  imploring  his  Spirit  to  guide  you 
into  all  necessary  truth,  to  save  you  from  all  fatal  errors,  to  enable 
you  to  receive  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it,  and  to  transform  you  more 
and  more,  into  a  likeness  to  himself? 

COUNSEL. 

1.  Remember  that  these  questions  are  intended  to  point  your  atten- 
tion to  subjects  of  inquiry  the  most  important.  Do  not,  therefore, 
content  yourself  with  a  careless  or  cursory  reading  of  them.  Read 
and  deliberate,  and  examine  yourself  closely  on  the  questions  under 
each  head;  and  let  your  heart  be  lifted  up  to  God,  while  you  are  con- 
sidering each  particular  question,  in  earnest  desire  that  he  may  show 
you  the  very  truth.  You  cannot  ordinarily  go  over  all  these  questions 
at  one  time.  Divide  them,  therefore,  and  take  one  part  at  one  time, 
and  another  at  another.  But  try  to  get  over  the  whole  in  the  course 
of  a  week ;  and  do  this  every  week  for  some  months.  When  you  find 
yourself  doubtful  or  deficient  in  any  point,  let  it  not  discourage  you ; 
but  note  down  that  point  in  writing,  and  bend  the  attention  of  your 
mind  to  it,  and  labour  and  pray  till  you  shall  have  made  the  attain- 
ment which  will  enable  you  to  answer  clearly.  It  is  believed  that 
you  cannot  fail  to  see  how  each  question  ought  to  be  answered. 

2.  Remember  that  secret  prayer,  reading  the  word  of  God,  watch- 
fulness, and  self-examination,  are  the  great  means  of  preserving  com- 


476 


COUNSEL, 


fort  in  religion,  and  of  growing  in  grace.  In  proportion  as  you  are 
exact  and  faitliful  in  these,  such,  usually  will  be  your  inward  peace, 
and  the  safety  of  your  state.  Unite  them  all  together,  and  never 
cease  to  practise  them  while  you  live.  Tliink  often  of  the  character  of 
Enoch,  and  try  to  walk  with  God.  Read  Mason's  little  book  on  self- 
knowledge  ;  I  recommend  it  as  excellent. 

3.  Besides  the  Bible,  have  constantly  in  reading,  at  your  leisure 
hours,  some  author  of  known  piety  and  excellence.  I  particularly 
recommend  Doddridge's  "  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the 
Soul."  Also  select  pieces  of  Owen,  Baxter,  Watts,  and  VVitherspoon's 
essays  on  Regeneration  and  Justification,  and  his  sermons  generally. 

4.  Do  not  suppose  that  any  evidence  of  a  gracious  state,  which  at 
present  you  may  think  you  possess,  will  release  you  from  the  necessity 
of  maintaining  a  constant  vigilance  in  time  to  come ;  nor  from  re- 
peated examinations  and  trials  of  yourself  even  to  the  end  of  life. 
Many  marks  and  evidences  of  a  gracious  state  are  set  down  by  pious 
writers.  But  they  must  all  come  to  this:  to  ascertain  what  is  your 
prevalent  temper  and  character ;  whether,  or.  the  whole,  you  are  in- 
creasing in  sanctifietion,  or  not?  If  you  are,  you  may  be  comforted; 
if  not,  you  have  cause  to  be  alarmed.  It  is  only  he  that  endureth  to 
the  end  that  shall  be  saved. 

5.  I  think  it  of  very  great  importance  to  warn  you  not  to  imagine 
that  true  religion  is  copfined  to  the  closet,  or  to  the  church ;  even 
though  you  apprehend  that  you  have  great  comfort  and  freedom  there. 
Freedom  and  comfort  there,  are,  indeed,  most  desirable ;  but  true  re- 
ligion reaches  to  every  thing.  It  alters  and  sweetens  the  temper.  It 
improves  the  manners.  It  goes  into  every  duty,  relation,  station, 
and  situation  of  life.  If  you  have  true  religion,  you  will  have  a 
better  spirit,  you  will  be  better  sons,  or  daughters,  better  husbands 
or  wives,  better  friends,  better  members  of  general  society,  and  more 
exemplary  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty;  as  the  sure  consequence 
of  this  invaluable  possession.  And  if  your  religion  does  not  pro- 
duce these  effects,  although  you  may  talk  of  inward  comforts,  and 
even  of  raptures,  you  have  great  reason  to  fear  that  the  whole  is  a 
delusion,  and  that  the  root  of  the  matter  is  not  in  you.  "Herein," 
said  the  Saviour,  "is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear  much  fruit; 
so  shall  ye  be  my  disciples." 

6.  Be  careful  to  avoid  a  gloomy,  and  to  cherish  a  cheerfiil  temper. 
Be  habitually  cheerful;  but  avoid  levity.  Mirth  and  laughter  are  not 
always  sinful ;  but  let  your  indulgence  in  them  be  clearly  innocent, 
not  very  frequent,  and  never  of  long  continuance.  Be  very  humble. 
Be  not  talkative.  Before  experienced  Christians  be  a  hearer,  rather 
than  a  talker.  Try,  in  every  way,  however,  to  promote  religion 
among  your  relatives  and  friends.  Win  them  to  it  by  your  amiable 
temper  and  exemplary  deportment.  "  Flee  youthful  lusts."  Shun 
every  excitement  to  them.  Guard  against  dissipation:  it  extinguishes 
piety.  Be  not  disconcerted  by  ridicule  and  reproach.  Your  Saviour 
bore  much  of  these  for  you.  Think  of  this,  and  be  ashamed  of  no- 
thing so  much  as  of  being  ashamed  of  him.  Trust  in  his  protection, 
live  to  his  praise,  and  you  will  spend  an  eternity  in  his  blissful  pre- 
sence. 


END  OF  VOL.  II. 


I'iMI  i'mI    ^*'™'°9"-"   Sem,nar,-Speer  L.brar, 


1    1012  01038  3463 


DATE  DUE 


Demco,  Inc.  38-293 


